DUBAI // A home for orphans is 80 per cent complete and should be operational by the end of the year.
The Family Village Orphanage, part of the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (Amaf), is preparing to welcome almost 100 children.
It will have 12 villas that will each provide a home for up to eight children. It will also have a fully-equipped nursery that can care for children from birth up until the age of three. A resident nurse will run a medical centre and a recreational area for the youngsters.
Tayeb Al Rais, secretary general of Amaf, said although the orphanage was not yet ready, a mock villa can be viewed by donors or those interested in contributing to the project.
The Family Village aims to create a balanced and stable family atmosphere for orphaned children, who will later be granted Emirati citizenship, Mr Al Rais said.
“The village will look after their physical, psychological, educational, mental and spiritual needs with full-time female caretakers or ‘mothers’ providing round-the-clock care. Assistants in the role of ‘aunts’ will also be assigned to individual houses to complete the holistic family picture for the children,” he said.
“All children who will be cared for in Dubai Family Village will be raised within the heritage, culture and customs of the UAE [and] critical staff will have day-to-day contact with and responsibility for the child’s welfare, development and ability to assimilate seamlessly into the UAE.”
The land for the orphanage was donated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Mr Al Rais said, and the project was initiated in July 2012.
“We are now raising funds to implement the initiative and ensure its growth and sustainability. The Family Village will be developed at an investment of Dh46.5 million. A commercial project that is concurrently being developed is expected to cost approximately Dh56 million. The commercial project will eventually sustain the operations of the Family Village,” he said.
Mr Al Rais said Amaf could not rely on donor funds alone, which is why they decided on a commercial project that will fund the day-to-day operations of the orphanage.
“To ensure sustainability, Dubai Family Village has engaged with several Waqf projects in various stages of development to cover costs. Several vacant plots of land have been generously donated by the Dubai Government that will be monetised by constructing apartments and business units for sale and leasing purposes,” he said.
Waqf is a type of funding or donation put into a plot of land to build wells, schools or mosques for charity as based on Sharia.
Mr Al Rais said the foundation was also accepting other donations from members of the public.
“The Dubai Family Village project welcomes further donations from socially responsible and philanthropic individuals and corporations,” he said.
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