His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Mothers’ Endowment campaign, which aims to honour mothers in the UAE by establishing an AED 1 billion endowment fund to sustainably support the education of millions of individuals around the world.

The campaign, coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan, stems from the basic fact that mothers are their children’s first teachers. They nurture generations and provide them with essential knowledge needed throughout life. The fund will represent an ongoing charity on behalf of all mothers in the UAE.

The campaign aims to honour mothers by allowing individuals to make donations in their mothers’ names. By supporting educational and vocational systems, the campaign also aims to support the education and qualification of individuals in underprivileged communities, offering sustainable ways to raise the standard of living and empowering them to enter the job market, which in turn helps enhance stability and drive development in their communities.

The Mothers’ Endowment campaign for education support also promotes the values of honouring parents, kindness and solidarity in the community, as well as highlights the role of UAE mothers, who nurture their families and support their children’s education. The campaign further solidifies the UAE’s status in the field of charity and humanitarian work, by establishing a sustainable endowment that creates education and empowerment opportunities to underprivileged populations around the world.

In a post on platform X, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said, “My dear brothers and sisters... The holy month of Ramadan approaches, and as has been our tradition of launching humanitarian campaigns, from the people of the UAE to the world every year, today we launch the Mothers’ Endowment; an education endowment fund valued at AED 1 billion, which acts as an ongoing charity in the name of all mothers in the UAE.”

“A mother is a synonym of heaven, and her satisfaction is the path to heaven. We call upon everyone – young and old, men and women - to be part of this endowment. Let us make our mothers happy, please our Creator, and practice fasting this Ramadan amidst blessings, love and kindness. May God protect the UAE and UAE mothers,” His Highness added.

“Knowledge is hope. It is the gate to a better life as it builds up capable humans and advances countries. Our role in the UAE is help ensure people everywhere have education, hope and life. We have to contribute to creating a better future around the world.

“The Mothers’ Endowment campaign for education support embodies the noble value of solidarity deeply instilled in the Emirati community and is a practical application of UAE’s culture of giving,” His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid concluded.

Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Secretary-General of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), said the Mothers’ Endowment campaign for education support reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for sustainable giving and generosity, and supporting vulnerable populations around the world in ways that create a tangible difference and enhances their reality. "These efforts aim to provide them with their basic needs and give them a chance to live, work and learn safely.”

“The Mothers’ Endowment campaign embodies the values of giving and generosity, deeply entrenched in the UAE community. It reflects our nation’s ongoing efforts, since its establishment, to extend aid to deprived communities, and help millions around the world receive quality education, which is one of the basic human rights. This noble cause has been, and will always be, a key humanitarian priority for the UAE and for MBRGI. The new endowment campaign reflects that,” he said.

“The Mothers’ Endowment campaign is an extension of previous Ramdan campaigns carried out by MBRGI, which have seen a massive response across the UAE and exceeded their targets in terms of donations and beneficiaries around the world,” Al Gergawi concluded.

Proceeds of the Mothers’ Endowment will go to support the education of millions of individuals around the world, offering them the necessary tools and skills to lead independent, dignified lives. The allocations will be carried out in partnership with humanitarian organisations. It targets those who seek education and vocational training in underprivileged communities, which helps promote their stability and welfare.

The Mothers’ Endowment campaign for education support will run under the umbrella of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, the region’s largest foundation in the field of humanitarian and development work. Raising the bar of community initiatives, it builds on the success of previous Ramadan campaigns launched under directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid over the past 4 years, starting with the ’10 Million Meals’ campaign in 2020 as the first and largest show of social solidarity, helping those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was followed by the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign in 2021 that extended its reach to 20 countries across Africa and Asia, and the ‘1 Billion Meals’ campaign of 2022 which distributed meals in 50 countries around the world, highlighting UAE’s efforts to end hunger. Most recently, MBRGI launched the ‘1 Billion Meals Endowment’ initiative in Ramadan 2023, which aims to establish the largest sustainable food aid endowment fund.

A window to organised and structured charity work, the Mothers’ Endowment campaign for education support offers an easy, streamlined mechanism for sustainable giving, in accordance with Islamic values and teachings. The campaign aligns with the instinctive human nature of doing good, and aims to drive social solidarity as part of a widespread humanitarian movement based on the premise that the welfare of one is the welfare of everyone.

Inspired by Quran verses and Islamic teachings of honouring mothers and the value of knowledge, the campaign solidifies the UAE’s leading status in the field of humanitarian work regionally and globally. It highlights the bright side of the Emirati community, quick to support all humanitarian initiatives. By focusing on the empowerment of underprivileged individuals and communities through education and skill-building, the campaign is an advanced example of charity endowments.

Despite accelerated global efforts to realise the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, the 4th SDG of quality education faces significant challenges as reports warn that failure to implement urgent and sustainable measures could mean that 84 million children and youths will remain out of school by 2030, while 300 million children will miss out on basic reading, writing and math skills, further hindering their development and their future chances of education and work.

According to a recent report by the UNESCO, 263 million children around the world are currently out of school. This includes 61 million children in the primary school age (5 to 11 years), 60 million children in the middle-school age (11 to 14) and 142 million high school students (aged 15 to 19 years).

Established in 2015 to consolidate various initiatives sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, MBRGI combines under its umbrella over 35 humanitarian, social and development initiatives and entities that focus primarily on vulnerable and disadvantaged communities around the world, with the aim of advancing education, fighting poverty and illnesses, and promoting the values of tolerance and coexistence.

MBRGI also strives to promote a culture of hope across the Arab world, by actively working to solve urgent humanitarian and development challenges, as well as investing in the human capital as the main source of development.