Abu Dhabi has introduced a new national humanitarian initiative aimed at building long-term support for orphaned children across the UAE. The Mother of the Nation Endowment for Orphans, launched by Awqaf Abu Dhabi, is designed to create a permanent funding system that supports orphan care in a structured, sustainable way.
The initiative was launched on February 18 and aligns with the UAE’s Year of Family, a national vision focused on strengthening family structures, social stability, and community wellbeing. At its heart, the project is simple: transform one-time donations into lasting financial support that continues to serve children year after year.
This isn’t just another campaign. It’s a long-term system built to last.
From short-term charity to long-term care
Traditional donation drives often rely on urgency. People give. Funds are used. The campaign ends. Then the cycle starts again.
This endowment changes that model.
They invest and manage donations so the funding keeps flowing to orphan programmes every year. That means support doesn’t stop after a campaign ends. It becomes part of a permanent structure that can finance education, healthcare, housing support, and development programmes consistently over time.
For families and organisations working in child welfare, this kind of stability matters. It allows planning, continuity and a real long-term impact instead of temporary relief.
In practical terms, the funding will support:
- Orphan care programmes
- Education and personal development
- Health and well-being services
- Social support systems
- Quality-of-life initiatives
It’s a shift from reactive charity to structured social development.
Rooted in UAE values, not just policy
This initiative feels deeply familiar to people who have lived in the UAE long enough. Community support, charity, and collective responsibility have always been part of daily life here — from mosque collections, and Ramadan drives to food banks and neighbourhood giving.
The endowment builds on that culture, but gives it structure.
It also draws from the legacy of the UAE’s founding leadership, where charity and social solidarity were never treated as optional extras, but as core national values. Supporting the vulnerable wasn’t framed as charity alone — it was seen as a responsibility.
The project also reflects the long-standing vision associated with the “Mother of the Nation”, whose work has consistently focused on family welfare, children’s well-being, and social stability.
This initiative brings those values into a modern framework — organised, transparent, and built for long-term impact.
A project that strengthens community bonds
Beyond financial support, the endowment is designed to strengthen social cohesion.
By encouraging residents, families, businesses, and institutions to contribute, it turns orphan care into a shared responsibility rather than an institutional task. It’s no longer just something handled by authorities or charities. It becomes a collective effort.
In a country as diverse as the UAE, this matters. Social stability here isn’t built on sameness. It’s built on shared values. Initiatives like this help reinforce that sense of unity — different communities, one responsibility.
It also fits naturally into the Year of Family framework, which focuses on creating stronger households, safer environments for children, and more resilient communities.
Built on a proven model
This isn’t Awqaf Abu Dhabi’s first large-scale endowment initiative.
Its earlier “Life Endowment” campaign, launched during the Year of Community, raised close to Dh1 billion in just four weeks, with contributions from more than 200,000 donors. That campaign showed how willing residents are to support structured, transparent social initiatives when they understand the purpose and long-term value.
The new endowment follows the same philosophy:
Clear structure.
Clear purpose.
Long-term impact.
It’s not about emotional appeals alone. It’s about building systems that last.
For dubai and Abu Dhabi residents
For many people living in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, charity often feels distant — something handled by organisations, foundations, and institutions.
This initiative changes that relationship.
It gives everyday residents a direct connection to long-term social impact. A contribution isn’t just a donation. It becomes part of a permanent support system that will continue helping children for years into the future.
For a city used to participating in Ramadan initiatives, charity campaigns, and community drives, this endowment offers a new kind of giving — quieter, structured, and sustainable.
It’s less about urgency. More about responsibility.
And that shift matters.
How it fits into the UAE’s bigger social vision?
This project is not isolated. It connects to a wider national direction focused on:
- Family stability
- Child welfare
- Community resilience
- Long-term social development
- Sustainable humanitarian systems
Rather than relying on short-term programmes, the UAE has increasingly focused on building long-term frameworks that create continuity and stability. This endowment is part of that shift.
It supports not just children, but the wider social ecosystem — schools, care institutions, families, and community organisations that depend on consistent funding to operate effectively.
The Mother of the Nation Endowment for Orphans represents a quiet but powerful shift in how social support is structured in the UAE.
It moves beyond temporary charity and into long-term responsibility. Beyond campaigns and into systems. Beyond short-term impact and into generational change.
By creating a permanent funding model, the initiative ensures that orphaned children are supported with dignity, stability, and continuity — not just during campaigns, but throughout their lives.
It’s not loud. It’s not dramatic. But it’s meaningful.
And in a society built on community values, that kind of quiet impact often matters the most.
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