Students attend ‘Zayed Happiness Caravan’ evening

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

A group of children of determination and their families participated in an evening to enjoy and interact with prominent guests as part of ‘Zayed Happiness Caravan’.

The event for children of determination and their families was organised by Dar Al Ber Society in collaboration with Bhamla Foundation and in association with Farzi Café in City Walk, Dubai.

The evening was also attended by Shekhar Suman, a very famous TV personality from India, and  Asif Bhamla, Founder of Bhamla Foundation, National & UN Champions Award Winner for Environment.

Zayed Happiness Caravan is an initiative of Dar Al Ber Society which is aimed at spreading happiness in the society, especially among the underprivileged section of the society including labourers, people of determination, orphans, and others. Under the initiative, Dar Al Ber Society visits various labour camps, construction sites, special needs schools, etc. and surprise the people there with gifts & food. So far, Dar Al Ber Society has touched over 80,000 underprivileged people under this initiative.

The main objective of the special evening was to help the families of Children of Determination feel being a part of the mainstream society. Another objective of the special evening was to help the people understand the problems faced by Children of Determination and their families. Keeping these objectives in mind, the organisers had also invited people from different walks of life.

The special evening featured dinner followed by one on one interaction of the Children of Determination with Shekhar Suman. Many of the children with determination took the opportunity to click selfies with Shekhar Suman. It was a full of fun filled evening for all the children. All the guest, especially the families of Children of Determination, enjoyed the evening thoroughly.

Juhi Yasmeen Khan, founder of JYK and CSR & Charity Initiative Expert at Dar Al Ber Society, said, “Making the People of Determination feel happy is one of the objectives of Zayed Happiness Caravan, which is an initiative of Dar Al Ber Society. So, we at the Society, keep on looking for ways of achieving that through various means”.

Asif Bhamla, commented that, “I always had a very special affection for Children of Determination, and I always try to bring smile in their lives in any way possible. With that thought, I started my foundation which is now working for more than 5,000 children of determination all over. I feel that God has been kind with me to take this service from a humble man like me. My foundation will always wholehearted do whatsoever for the welfare of Children of Determination.”

Shekha Suman, said, “I am so happy that Zayed Happiness Caravan and Bhamla Foundation invited me to be a part of such a noble initiative. I wish both of them all the best, and my support will always be there for such initiatives.”

Zorawar Kalra from Farzi Café, said, “We are delighted to be associated with Zayed Happiness Caravan & Bhamla Foundation in organising the Special Evening for Children of Determination. We had designed special menu for our special friends and we had a great time hosting our special friends at our cafe”.

Recently, The Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination, ZHO, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Emirates Autism Society, EAS, aimed at strengthening their cooperation in the field of joint social and humanitarian action.

The MoU also includes raising awareness among the local community regarding autism spectrum disorder, supporting families in dealing with their autistic children, and benefit from the different experiences of members from both entities in the field of autism spectrum disorder.

The MoU was signed by Abdullah Abdul Ali Al Humaidan, Secretary-General of the ZHO, and Majed Sultan Al Muhairi, Chairman of the EAS.

The MoU aims to stimulate many community activities that significantly contribute to integrating autistic students into the local community, and provide periodically updated statistics on the number of people of determination in general, and the number of people of determination with autism integrated into schools in particular.

Al Humaidan welcomed the signing of the MoU with the EAS, praising the role of the society in raising the level of knowledge among families of people with autism, and its endeavour to achieve its mission, which is to provide a suitable environment for the integration of people of determination with autism into society through programmes that boost their potential, in collaboration and coordination with partners.

He added that the ZHO works under the supervision of  Sheikh Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of ZHO, to establish strategic partnerships with all parties and institutions, especially associations of public benefit, as part of its strategy to expand the scope of its care and rehabilitation services to include the largest number of children in the country.

Al Muhairi clarified that the MoU reflects the vision of the wise leadership in empowering people of determination and boosting their involvement in the process of sustainable development.

He also stressed the need to ensure cooperation between all institutions within the country from all sectors (government, private, charity and volunteering) to develop services for this group that deserves care and attention.