Kalimat gives 600 books to Greek bodies

Kalimat Foundation for Children’s Empowerment (KF), a Sharjah-based non-profit organisation working to fulfil the basic right of every child to read, has offered 600 Arabic books to six humanitarian organisations in Greece, coinciding with the UAE embassy’s “Week of Tolerance” celebrations in the country.

The book donation is part of KF’s “Pledge a Library” initiative, which aims to offer young Arab refugee children access to books and learning, helping them form a bond with their mother tongue and literary culture despite being away from their homelands.

Beneficiary organisations are “We Need Books” and the “Home Project,” which provide books and basic amenities to refugee children in Greece; the “Levadia Central Public Library;” “Project Elea,” run by a volunteers group who have been helping those residing in Eleonas Refugee Camp in Athens; “The Network for Children’s Rights” — an NGO specialising in developing educational and social programmes; and “Starfish Foundation,” a non-profit organisation working to help migrants and refugees in Lesvos.

Mohammed Mir Abdullah Al Raisi, UAE Ambassador to Greece, said: “Forging strong relations with countries, based on tolerance, goodness, love and peace, is integral to the UAE’s foreign policy. We follow the same principle at home, and we are proud to be home to people representing over 200 nationalities. Efforts like ‘Week of Tolerance’ and KF’s book donation initiative are key to realising our national vision of promoting knowledge and culture as tools of exchange with peoples and civilisations worldwide. It is indeed a matter of pride that the Kalimat Foundation has introduced its ‘Pledge a Library’ initiative to an environment, which will benefit immensely from books and knowledge. This humanitarian initiative highlights the role of promoting learning and literary appreciation as facilitators of understanding and peace. We are happy that so many young readers in Greece now have an opportunity to engage with their native language and culture through reading.”