Dubai Festival City Mall supports ‘UAE Water Aid’ and ‘Operation SmileUAE’ this Ramadan

This Ramadan, Dubai Festival City Mall has pledged to support the ‘UAE Water Aid’ (UAE Suquia) campaign launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai which aims to provide clean water to five million people in more than 60 countries around the world.

“We are extremely happy to see the tremendous success of the UAE Water Aid campaign to date and hope that our support will help to reach the desired outcome. All our visitors are encouraged to contribute towards this noble cause by donating at the Emirates Red Crescent collection boxes strategically located around our Mall,”commented Murray Bell, Managing Director, Retail, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate.

During Ramadan, Dubai Festival City Mall has also launched the UAE’s first in-mall campaign that will help thousands of children around the world that are born with a cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. 

Every three minutes a child is born with a cleft condition and many die before their first birthday because they have trouble eating. Shoppers are urged to donate at the collection boxes available throughout the mall and in selected stores to support ‘Operation Smile’, an international non-profit charity foundation that change the lives of many children around the world by funding thousands of cleft surgeries every year.  

“Every dirham collected will provide children that are born with a cleft condition with hope for a better future. It will give them the ability to express themselves in the most basic form of communication that helps us connect with each other, ‘a smile,” added Mr. Bell. 

Since 1982, ‘Operation Smile’ has funded over 200,000 cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries through its 5400 volunteers in 80 countries. 

Morag Cromey-Hawke, Executive Director of ‘Operation Smile UAE’ commented: “We are honoured to be partnering with Dubai Festival City Mall which has an excellent track record of helping charities around the country through countless donation campaigns. A special thank you goes out to the mall management team whose tireless efforts have helped enormously in spearheading this campaign.  We hope that all visitors to the mall will join the campaign to support us.”

Mr. Bell concluded: “We are proud to support two extremely important causes this Ramadan as part of our ongoing CSR programme in which we are committed to improving the lives of many both in the UAE and around the world.”