Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation Joins Hands with Dubai Foundation for Women and Children to Boost Protection of Children's Rights

Wednesday 18 May 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai Foundation for Women and Children as part of a mutual commitment to safeguard children and ensure their proper care and rehabilitation.

Signed between Her Excellency Afra Al Basti, National Council Member and Director General of the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, and His Excellency Tayeb Abdulrahman Al-Rais, Secretary General of Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation, the MoU articulates the directives of Dubai’s leadership regarding the protection of children's rights and the provision of a safe environment for minors.

Under the agreement, the two sides will jointly identify authentic methodologies and work mechanisms to offer children housed at AMAF’s Family Village a safe, healthy and nurturing environment that preserves their rights and provides them with the necessary care and rehabilitation services.

The agreement enables the Family Village to use the counseling and training center at the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children for organizing integrated training programs for care givers or ‘mothers’ at the village, as well as for the rehabilitation of minor children. The two entities are also mandated to cooperate in the dissemination of knowledge about the concept of endowment. Specific areas of protection, care and rehabilitation of children have also been defined as per the agreement. The two institutions will additionally cooperate in launching initiatives and projects aimed at the protection and care of women and children - especially minors and orphans.

Reiterating the importance of collaboration and partnerships among organizations engaged in social and humanitarian work in the emirate of Dubai and the wider UAE, Her Excellency Afra Al Basti pointed out that concerted and integrated efforts will lead to the delivery of enhanced services to the target groups. She added that the protection and holistic development of children are key priorities for all social work organizations in the UAE in line with the directives of the country’s leadership that seeks to establish a happy and secure society.

She added: "Through this significant agreement with Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation, we look forward to expanding the scope of benefits and protection offered to the children of Family Village. We hope to ensure that Family Village remains a safe haven for orphaned children, and a distinctive place that cares for their development and supports their rehabilitation. Our synergy with AMAF is in line with our sustained efforts to build strong bonds with public and private sector entities to achieve a stable and secure society.”

For his part, His Excellency Tayeb Al-Rais said: "We are pleased to sign this agreement with a national institution that shares our interests in the welfare of orphaned children and minors, and in their rehabilitation to enable them to evolve into productive individuals in society. We will continue to work for greater cooperation in implementing training programs that we believe are necessary to maintain the quality of services provided to the young children."

Al-Rais pointed out that Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation seeks to consolidate the spirit of solidarity and cohesion among members of the community and promote a sense of responsibility for the underprivileged children.

He added: “In effectively managing the Family Village, we are working to integrate and empower various social groups within Dubai and the UAE. We are confident it will emerge as a global model for the development of endowment and rehabilitation of minors.”

Launched in 2015, AMAF’s Family Village houses nearly 100 orphaned children, and provides them with accommodation, education, health and psychological care and nutrition in a homely, stable and balanced environment. The self-contained village encompasses all their basic needs and comprises full-time ‘mothers’ or care-givers for each group of children so they receive all the care and love they need.

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