International Youth Day Celebrated in Dubai

International Youth Day was celebrated in Dubai and this year's theme was  "Building a Better World : Partnering with Youth". In keeping with this spirit, we undertook a group activity comprising of children and youth from across the Emirates. The basic purpose was to bring some cheer to the poor labourers of Dubai. These are the people who build our magnificent buildings, roads and bridges, but do not enjoy the same comforts as we do. We contributed and collected donations to gather food, clothes, books and items of personal hygiene. We spent several hours packing them into cartons which were then later distributed to the labour camps. The enthusiasm and focus shown by the youth at this event was quite breathtaking and was reported in the local press as well. The greatest reward for all of us were the smiles on the labourers' faces when they opened the packs.

Alleviation of poverty is one of UN's  Millennium Development Goals and we, children and  youth, must and can contribute. Our effort was also in keeping with the spirit of giving during the ongoing Holy month of Ramadan.

I was also quite inspired by the UN Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki Moon's words on International Youth Day where he said  " To unleash the power of young people, we need to partner with them." My message to all the youth who were with me at this event was that we, the youth, form more than half of the global population, and we must use these opportunities to make ourselves heard in order to obtain the future we want.

I am attaching a couple of pictures of  our group at work .

Once again thank you for inspiring and encouraging me always .

Lots of love,
Kehkashan