Dubai honours Arab Hope Makers winners with AED3 million in prizes
Image used for illustrative purpose. Photo: WAM
Dubai: Dubai hosted a big event to celebrate people who help others and bring hope to their communities. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum honoured the winners of the 6th Arab Hope Makers initiative at a special ceremony in Dubai.
The main winner was Fouzia Jbara Mahmoudi from Morocco. She received the Arab Hope Maker title and a cash prize of AED1 million. She won after getting the highest number of public votes during the final event held at Coca-Cola Arena.
Sheikh Hamdan also announced that the two other finalists would each receive AED1 million. They are Hend Alhajri from Kuwait and Abderrahmane Rais from Morocco. This made the total prize money for this year AED3 million.
The Arab Hope Makers initiative is the largest program in the Arab world that celebrates people who do good work and help improve the lives of others. This year, 15,800 people took part in the competition.
Sheikh Hamdan congratulated all participants and said that hope is very important for success and progress. He explained that helping others and spreading goodness builds a better future for everyone. He also said the UAE will continue to support projects that bring hope and positive change.Senior officials and leaders attended the awards ceremony, along with many guests and supporters of charity work.
Mohammad Al Gergawi, Secretary General of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, said the Arab Hope Makers program encourages kindness, volunteering, and positive action across Arab communities. He said the initiative supports people who help others without looking for fame or praise.
Since the program started in 2017, it has shared more than 335,000 stories about people doing good deeds. It also helped grow volunteer and charity work across the Arab world.
Fouzia Jbara Mahmoudi started her charity, Operation Smile Morocco, in 1999. The group gives free medical care to children born with cleft lips and palates. The care continues from childhood to adulthood.
Operation Smile Morocco runs three special medical centers and will soon open a fourth. The team has carried out 164 mobile medical missions in 30 cities. These missions check many children and perform surgeries. More than 19,000 surgeries have been completed so far, and over 120,000 people received dental care. More than 650 volunteers help with this work.
Finalist Hend Alhajri began her journey while working as a volunteer teacher in Tanzania. She saw that many orphan children lost their homes during heavy rains. She decided to help by buying land and building a safe home called Fatima House.
Today, Fatima House cares for 47 children. It gives them a safe place to live, learn, and grow. Hend lives there with the children and takes care of their daily needs.
Finalist Abderrahmane Rais leads a charity effort called Suroor in Morocco. He helps widows and poor families in remote villages. He pays their unpaid grocery bills using donations from kind people.
He shares his charity trips on YouTube to encourage others to help, but he protects people’s privacy by not showing their faces. His project has helped more than 7,000 people by paying their debts. He also helps build homes, dig wells, and sponsor Umrah trips. Overall, his work has supported more than 20,000 people.
The Arab Hope Makers initiative supports individuals and groups who run charity projects that improve lives and solve community problems. The work must be voluntary and not for profit.
The initiative first launched in 2017 and received tens of thousands of entries from across the Arab world. Each year, it continues to grow and inspire more people to help others and spread hope.
