For those seeking a better understanding of the aims of the new 2017 Year of Giving initiative, one need look no closer than an unassuming two-storey villa on Jumeirah Beach Road where community responsibility, volunteerism and motivation of youth have forged a quarter century of green conservation across the UAE.

Seated comfortably in her Jumeirah villa headquarters of Emirates Environmental Group, founder and chairperson Habiba Al Marashi marvels as she looks back over the 25-plus years since the Dubai-based non-governmental organisation first breathed life in the UAE.

On the heels of its silver anniversary, Al Marashi’s EEG is proof positive of the act of giving’s transformative power to motivate hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the country to become environmental stewards of nature to ensure a green home for generations to come.

Al Marashi’s pioneering efforts in 1991 to establish EEG and its Clean Up the UAE — the single largest volunteer waste collection effort in the country — resulted in 125,536 residents voluntarily fanning out across seven emirates in December 2016 to collect 1.5 million kilogrammes of waste ranging from cans and paper to plastic and glass.

By comparison, national figures estimate there are now an estimated total of 200,000 volunteers across all charities in the UAE

In the paper category alone, EEG has collected 14.7 million kilogrammes of recyclable newsprint, magazines, books and cardboard since 2001 which has saved the equivalent of 279,170 trees, according to figures tracked year on year by Al Marashi and staff.

Multiply the stunning statistics by a factor of 15 years of cleanups and you get an idea of the depth and breadth of Al Marashi’s far-reaching achievement at the helm of one of the most productive, results driven not-for-profit organisations in the country.

“This didn’t happen overnight, It’s been sheer determination to ensure we reached every corner of our country and beyond,” Al Marashi, a mother of three daughters and a son, told Gulf News in an interview. “This is where I found my true calling in life, this is where I really learnt to give and enjoy it.”

The secret to EEG’s unparalleled motivation of so many volunteers in the UAE comes down to two basic elements of human emotions, a sense of belonging and tolerance as well as “empowering the individual to make a difference,” she said.

Marashi thanked UAE leaders for cultivating deeply ingrained tolerance in the UAE which has helped EEG cross many cultural barriers when volunteers gather to collect waste yearly across the country.

Much of the community, giving-based philosophy demonstrated by EEG mirrors the aims of this year’s Year of Giving initiative.

President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has declared 2017 as the Year of Giving in the UAE to focus on three main pillars: creating a sense of community responsibility in the private sector, enhancing the spirit of volunteering and encouraging specialised volunteer programmes, and instilling loyalty and commitment in the next generations to serve their country.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said at a first national retreat for the Year of Giving initiative that humanitarian work will help build a country with the selfless good works of its citizens and institutions.

“With the generosity of citizens, the Year of Giving, launched under the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will consolidate our position as a nation and people, especially as we are the most generous nation globally,” said Shaikh Mohammad while speaking at the Year or Giving Retreat.

Shaikh Mohammad pointed out that consolidating a culture of giving in the UAE is a joint responsibility, and that the role of individuals and institutions to transform the year of giving into a platform for hard work so that we can make generosity a part of our national scheme.

Shaikh Mohammad expressed his pride with the notable response of the Emirati community with the hashtag #theYearOfGiving, which he launched on his social media accounts.

Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs and the Future, noted at the retreat that there is good and giving in each emirate.

“Our leaders have established charitable associations that are represented by officials from the public and private sector as well as humanitarian leaders and businessmen,” he said.

“The Year of Giving initiative reflects the identity of the UAE in human activity. The UAE is a very young country and in a short period of time it became an example in giving and in creating a balance in economic and humanitarian growth. This is what makes it exceptional,” Al Gergawi said.

While the UAE currently has over 200,000 registered volunteers, Al Gergawi said the upcoming initiatives aim to increase that number and establish a regulatory institution that can monitor the number of hours volunteered by each individual in companies across the country.

“Our aim is to include residents and students in the volunteering programme and to further engrave the sense of giving in our youth,” he said.

 

Volunteer legacy of EEG

 

Materials collected for recycling by hundreds of thousands of volunteers over two-and-a-half decades led by Emirates Environmental Group have slowly amassed into vast amounts of waste diverted from landfill sites in the UAE, according to statistics compiled by the organisation.

 

Since 1997, EEG has collected 278,672kg of aluminium cans

Since 2001, EEG has collected 14.6 million kg of paper products

Since 2005, EEG has collected 860,351kg of plastic

Since 2005, EE has collected 2.2 million kg of glass

Since 2006, EEG has collected 65,926kg of batteries

source : gulfnews