Dubai: A total of 200 iPads were distributed to underprivileged children yesterday in a special ceremony hosted by Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) in Dubai.
The ceremony, that came under the slogan ‘My Smart Gift,’ was held under the patronage of Shaikha Hind Bint Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum and came along as part of Dubai’s ‘Smart City’ initiative that was launched last year by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
“Shaikh Mohammad’s initiative was to convert the government into a smart government, and we’ve taken responsibility upon ourselves to change our kids by preparing them and getting them ready for the smart government,” Tayeb Al Rais, secretary-general of AMAF, said.
“We’ve taken the role further down into the community to make sure the community is aware and has the tools to cope with this initiative. Providing iPads to the foundation’s minors will significantly aid their learning process, and such efforts will go a long way towards integrating the foundation’s minors in the UAE’s success story,” he said.
The 200 children who were selected were among the 2,650 children that AMAF takes care of, and the selection was made by the Caring and Rehabilitation Department of AMAF, which is responsible for implementing the financial, educational, residential, health and social development programmes for the foundation’s minors.
The children who attended the event and eagerly waited to get their iPads included orphans, abandoned children, and special needs children of various ages.
J.J., a 17-year-old Emirati, said: “It’s a great feeling to finally own my own iPad. Since my father passed away, AMAF has always supported us in every way.”
“I plan to use this device for educational purposes, especially now that I’m starting college, I’ll benefit from it a lot,” she continued.
Her two other sisters K., 13, and M., 16, also shared the same opinion about how they were planning to use the iPads, while their mother Z.A. expressed her gratitude to the government.
“The government never forgets its children and I always remind my children that they need to be grateful for all the efforts that our government has done to aid its minors. I continue to teach them and remind them that they are the government’s right hand, and that they will be part of building this society with the government,” she said.
