Arab Hope Makers Awards takes place in Dubai

The Arab Hope Makers Award ceremony was held on Sunday in Dubai at the Coca Cola Arena in front of more than 12,000 spectators.

The winners were honoured by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.

An Iraqi philanthropist named Tala Al Khalil won the most prestigious Arab Hope Makers award for her humanitarian work. Ms Al Khalil received the title of Hope Maker and an award of AED 1 million. The other three finalists also received AED 1 million each to continue their humanitarian work.

It is learnt that the winner began her journey as a philanthropist in 2015 when she started seeing young cancer patients in a special ward at Basra Children’s Hospital. She now has more than two hundred children with cancer and children with Down syndrome in her personal care.

The second finalist, 37-year-old Iraqi doctor, Mohammed Al Najjar, who lost his leg in 2014, has turned his tragedy into an engine of change and hope. While studying in England, he joined Portsmouth, a football team for amputees. He had success there, and was named the club’s best player in 2019. Upon returning to Iraq, he wanted to repeat the experience in his home country. Thanks to Al Najjar’s tireless efforts, the Iraqi team is now ranked 19th in the world out of 70 amputee football teams.

Another prize winner was blogger Amin Imnir, whose social media account aims to improve the lives of underprivileged Moroccans. He now heads the AFTAS society, whose list of achievements includes distributing more than 1,000 solar panels, more than 4,500 food parcels to poor families including widows and orphans, funding 217 surgeries in 2023, and planting 2,800 fruit trees.

The fourth winner of Arab Hope Maker Awards was Egyptian philanthropist Fatia Al Mahmoud, who is an inspiring example of selfless giving and fostering hope. Unable to have children of her own after her marriage 30 years ago, she decided to foster orphans in 2005. With the help of her husband, she founded a society called A Touch of Hope to care for, educate and inspire orphans. She has been able to foster 34 girls without any outside help.

Source: Khaleej Times

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