DAMAC Group and the Knowledge Fund Establishment signed an MoU of AED20 million sponsorship agreement to support the Dubai Schools project by providing scholarship funding for Emirati students’ tuition fees starting in the 2022-2023 academic year. The agreement aligns with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to enhance the role of public-private sector partnerships, and also with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, to invest in high-quality education to equip future Emirati generations with the skills and knowledge to lead Dubai’s future knowledge-based economy.
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Foundation
What is the Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation?
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation is a joint philanthropic initiative between the DAMAC Group and its Founder, Hussain Sajwani. As a home-grown Company, we feel it is important to give back to the community in which we operate, one that has given us so much. The foundation is keen to unlock the full potential of the region’s skills through education and hard work. This is the path Sajwani followed and the path he has put his children on. Contributing to a sustainable future for generations to come, he aims to empower the wider community within the Arab region.
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Mission
Our Mission
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation aims to improve the livelihoods of others, through foundational learning and skills development initiatives that address the unmet needs of the communities that DAMAC operates in.
Why Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation (HSDF) was born from a deeply rooted commitment to give back to the community that has given the organisation so much. While our focus is on education and youth empowerment, we also engage in charitable initiatives that provide a wide range of assistance that benefit the underserved and marginalised sectors of society. HSDF has pledged AED5 million to the ‘1 Billion Meals’ campaign launched at the start of Ramadan 2022, aimed at providing food parcels for disadvantaged individuals and families across 50 countries. In a bid to allow those who digressed in conduct a second chance at life, the Foundation will collaborate with Dubai Police under an initiative called ‘Fresh Slate’ to aid detainees at the Dubai’s Punitive and Correctional Institutions charged with petty offences. The Foundation also contributed to the Dubai Schools Project, allocating AED20 million to go towards tuition for Emirati youth in need.
Additionally, in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation HSDF supports the ‘One Million Arab Coders’ Initiative’ that was launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to provide software development training to one million people across the Arab world. Other humanitarian causes that the Foundation supports include support for the Al Hadaf Centre for People of Determination, Dubai Autism Centre, and Al-Tariq Rehabilitation Centre as well as the Arab Hope Makers initiative. We will soon announce a scholarship programme that will provide assistance to Emirati students facing financial difficulties as well as a programme to support young entrepreneurs with support from a trusted finance institution. Our CSR activities will continue to remain pivotal in our mission and vision, for both DAMAC and the Sajwani family.
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Our Cause
Our Cause
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation is committed to advancing education and learning as its primary objective. It assesses gaps in learning, and unmet vocational skill needs within communities. It supports these gaps with initiatives that can improve economic circumstances, promote employment and create uplift.
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation joins a network of grassroots organisations, NGOs and government bodies collaborating across the Arab world to facilitate computer and internet access for interested students.
The Foundation has collaborated with the Knowledge Fund Establishment to support the Dubai Schools project. According to the agreement, DAMAC Group will provide scholarships worth AED 20 million to go towards Emirati students’ tuition fees starting with the 2022-23 academic year.
The scholarship funding supports Dubai Schools’ objectives, which include providing state-of-the-art education to help the next generation of students keep pace with the evolving requirements of the job market. Further, it will support Dubai’s efforts to harness advanced science and technological breakthroughs to create a world-class education ecosystem.
The Foundation also launched the ‘Fresh Slate’ Initiative in collaboration with the Dubai Police General Headquarters aimed at aiding detainees in Dubai’s Punitive and Correctional Institutions who have been charged with petty offences. The initiative will cover the financial obligations of the detainees to ensure their release and safe return to their families with a new opportunity to become productive members of society.
Fresh Slate is among a trio of charitable projects being launched by HSDF in 2022, with others slated to be announced later in the year. These initiatives are part of the Foundation’s ongoing corporate social responsibility to support the education and youth sectors.
The Foundation also sponsored the Dubai Future Foundation’s ‘One Million Arab Coders’ initiative – an integrated educational programme that empowered one million Arabs with the ability to code.
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Milestones
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation (HSDF) has pledged AED5 million to the UAE’s 1 Billion Meals’ Initiative, launched by Sheikh Mohammed at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan in March 2022 aimed to provide meals to underprivileged people in 50 countries from around the world. The pledge is part of the DAMAC Group’s plans for a trio of charitable activities for 2022.
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation has announced the ‘Fresh Slate’ initiative in collaboration with the Dubai Police General Headquarters aimed at aiding detainees in Dubai’s Punitive and Correctional Institutions who have been charged for petty offences. AED 2 million has been allocated for the project that will be conducted over a period of four months, from April to July 2022, and the release of prisoners will coincide with the celebrations of Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha.
The Hussain Sajwani-DAMAC Foundation has pledged AED1 million to the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign, aimed at providing food parcels for disadvantaged individuals and families across 20 countries during the Holy Month of Ramadan in 2021. The donation helped provide one million meals to beneficiaries in countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
In the spirit of Ramadhan, The Hussain Sajwani DAMAC Foundation has supported the Al Hadaf Centre for People of Determination. Under the Ministry of Education – Distance Learning initiative, the Centre will provide electronic devices for children to continue and enhance distance learning.
On the occasion of Zayed’s Day for Humanitarian Action, The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation has supported the Al-Tariq Rehabilitation and Autism Centre to assist and provide services for health, rehabilitation and educational care to different groups of people of determination.
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation announced the donation of AED 1 million to provide 125,000 meals to communities affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the UAE, as part of the country’s biggest food distribution drive.
Arab Hope Makers 2020 – The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation has pledged AED 3 million to the Arab Hope Makers initiative 2020, this contribution will go to the initiative’s Humanitarian Cause of the Year – the construction of the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in Egypt, which will help thousands of Arab children and adults suffering from heart diseases free-of-charge.
One Million Arab Coders Initiative: Launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the ‘One Million Arab Coders’ aims to empower one million Arabic students with the language of coding.
Dubai Cares – donated 10 apartments valued at AED 10 million for auctioning to support Dubai Cares initiatives.
Dubai Autism Centre – donated AED 1 million to support the building of a new, high-tech care facility for children with autism.
Emirates Red Crescent – donated AED 1 Million to the UAE Suqia (Water Aid) Campaign, as part of the Ramadan charitable giving programme, providing access to fresh drinking water for five million people around the world who suffer from a shortage of potable water.
Emirates Red Crescent – donated AED 1 million to “Yemen We Care” Campaign, launched under the orders of President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Emirates Red Crescent – donated AED 1 million to the Tarahamu (UAE Compassion) Campaign, to support thousands of refugees and homeless in Jordan and Lebanon hit by the ‘Huda’ across the Levant region.
Dar Al Ber Society – AED 100,000 to sponsor the annual Ramadan ceremony for orphans and underprivileged children.
To mark the occasion of the International Humanitarian Day initiative under the slogan of ‘Your families … our people’, there was an assembly held during which, the Director of the Red Crescent, Mr Khalfan Sarhan Al-Rumaithi, received a cheque from Brigadier General Jamal Salem Al Ameri, Executive Director of the Saed Association, to help families affected by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. This was followed by a field tour to document the initiative on the affected families, accompanied by a delegation from the Red Crescent and Abu Dhabi Police. DAMAC supported this initiative as part of its ongoing community activities.