His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai on Thursday announced that during the honoring ceremony of “Arab Hope Makers” in Dubai, he fundraised 360 million Egyptian Pounds (USD 23 million) for the construction of Magdi Yacoub Heart Center in Egypt.
Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed said that the proceeds of the Arab Hope Makers concluding ceremony will be dedicated to the project of building Magdi Yacoub Charitable Heart Center in Egypt, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Once completed, the Center will conduct 12,000 heart surgeries annually, of which 70 percent will target children.
The ceremony also witnessed donations from a number of businessmen and companies in the UAE to support the construction and preparation of the hospital.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, announced giving a contribution to support the hospital which is equal to the contributions of businessmen as the total sum doubled to reach (AED 88 million).
Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum said “Hope makers are real heroes of giving and they are symbols for charitable and humanitarian work. They take the initiative and their goodness helps the others.”
He considered that the “Hope makers who work for their society and homelands produce a positive social mobility that supports the development, and the restoration of confidence in the future of the Arab world.”
The Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai awarded the five Arab Hope Makers finalists AED1 million each.
Ahmed Al Falasi, from the UAE was crowned as the Arab Hope Maker 2020 for his humanitarian work in establishing advanced kidney dialysis centers and incubators in Kenya’s Mombasa.
The 3rd edition of Hope Makers initiative received more than 92 thousand participants from all around the Arab World in comparison with 87 thousand participants in the year 2018, and 65 thousand participants in the year 2016.
Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum earlier launched the initiative of Hope Makers in the year 2017 as the largest Arab initiative which honors the programs and the humanitarian and social initiatives whose owners seek to help people through them free of charge.
skynews