In its efforts towards instilling core Emirati values passed down from Founding Father the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Ministry of Education organised humanitarian missions to Tanzania and Portugal as part of its ‘Ambassadors of Giving’ programme. The noble missions saw the participation of 120 Emirati students with ambitions of making a difference in the world and eager to demonstrate the nation’s values such as giving, compassion, tolerance and positivity.
Zanzibar mission
A group of 80 Emirati students (40 girls and 40 boys) was part of the humanitarian mission to the Jendele Village in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The ‘Ambassadors of Giving’ helped the locals in expanding and renovating an old school. The Ambassadors put in hours of work into developing these schools to provide local students with better facilities and incentives to get an education.
The first batch of 40 female Ambassadors that was part of the mission took part in community development work such as tutoring local children in subjects such as English, mathematics, arts and crafts. The Emirati students also got the chance to give these students a glimpse of the Middle Eastern culture via teaching them about the Emirati culture and Arabic language.
The girls looked at the needs of the schools from equipment, stationery to printers and informed the teams in the UAE, who had gathered the required items throughout the summer camp programme. The second batch of the Ambassadors was fully briefed on the requirements of the local students and had taken all the items with them to make the most of their trip to Zanzibar.
The second batch of students consisted of 40 boys. In addition to the renovation, they helped transfer knowledge to the locals by teaching them all they have learned in school on Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and programming. Many of these Ambassadors had taken part in the Ministry’s robotics competitions and trainings. The students had also taken their laptops and iPads to train the teachers and local students in technology fields. Before their trip came to an end, the Ambassadors gifted the local schools their laptops and iPads to continue their education journey and implement all they have learned.
Portugal mission
The missions in Portugal included 40 students who took part in various humanitarian activities in both Lisbon and Porto. As part of the programme, the students volunteered in animal shelters to help care for abandoned animals and took part in gardening work in a special needs centre. They also were part of a reforestation project while in Portugal.
Commenting on the Ambassadors of Giving programme, Dr Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary Activities sector at the Ministry of Education, said, “This programme falls in line with the UAE’s efforts in instilling a culture of giving and compassion in youth through adopting social responsibility initiatives. The students that took part in the Ambassadors of Giving had perfectly portrayed what the UAE stands for and reflected the cherished values that have been passed on from our forefathers. Despite their young age, these students have made a memorable impact on the lives they have touched upon on their journey and made the UAE proud.”
Al Shamsi added, “During the Zanzibar mission we saw 40 young women build homes with their bare hands and take part in challenging activities. This proves that there are no boundaries to what Emirati women can do when they put their hearts into a cause.”
The Ambassadors of Giving programme was launched in 2017 in conjunction with the Year of Giving, which was based around three main pillars that included corporate social responsibility, volunteering and serving the nation. The programme embraces the values of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan by enriching volunteering in the Emirati culture.
