Dubai: Dozens of aluminium cans, plastic bottles, including a monoblock chair discarded in the sea were collected on Tuesday by the Dubai Crown Prince and other divers, including two kids, on the occasion of the International Volunteer Day.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, on Tuesday heeded the suggestions of residents on how he could dedicate a day for Dubai by doing a voluntary act.
“Dubai, I heard you. Thank you for your incredible contributions,” Shaikh Hamdan said in a tweet.
“After careful consideration, I have chosen to dedicate my day to cleaning the sea. Making a difference to the environment starts with the small changes we make in our everyday lives. #International_Volunteer_Day”, the tweet read.
Shaikh Hamdan, along with 25 expert divers and two children aged 12, dived into the waters in Dubai Marina on Tuesday to fish out discarded trash polluting corals in the area.
Shaikh Hamdan picked the suggestion to clean up the sea from more than 6,000 volunteering ideas submitted within six days to the www.dayfordubai.com crowdsourcing platform launched last week.
Shaikh Hamdan lauded the children who participated, namely Mohammad and Saeed Subaih Al Falasi, and Abdullah Ahmad Al Merri, and the other volunteers.
“I was delighted to have received the suggestion of diving and cleaning the marine environment from the Emirati child Rashid Marwan Al Merri and Indian child Hanan Mohammad Ali, both who are not older than 12 years old. This is a testament to our children’s awareness of the importance of preserving marine environment and ensuring that future generations get to enjoy a healthy and clean environment in the years to come,” he said.
During the occasion, celebrated annually on December 5, Shaikh Hamdan also called on UAE residents to do their bit and adopt activities and programmes that preserve environmental resources so they can sufficiently support the country’s needs and adequately offer future generations a high quality of life.
“Our city is our home. We are all responsible for its cleanliness and for sustaining its resources. This marks the first implementation of the thousands of ideas that we’ve received from the crowdsourcing platform launched last week,” Shaikh Hamdan said.
Dubai’s Crown Prince underscored that preserving the environment is a national responsibility, an urgent requirement, and a pillar of sustainable development and encouraged everyone to do environmental volunteering.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Happiness, Uhoud Al Roumi, on the occasion recognised volunteers who sacrifice their time and energy to contribute to society.
“Thank you to all volunteers in the #UAE and around the world for selflessly giving your time, energy and love to build happier communities and make our world a better place,” she said in a tweet.
Also on the occasion of Volunteer Day, the Dubai Municipality Volunteer Team on Tuesday organised an initiative called Minutes of Giving.
Eng Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of the Municipality, was present along with Fatma Ali Ebrahim, the seniormost lady volunteer in the UAE, and other senior officials and employees of the municipality.
Lootah said Dubai Municipality is keen to promote volunteerism as a human and cultural value that embodies the principles of good life, instils a sense of responsibility among members of society and stimulates the spirit of initiative.
The team recorded 350 volunteers this year.
- with inputs from WAM
