The Human Appeal International was established in the emirate of Ajman through a royal decree issued by the Emirate's Ruler  in1984.  It is a humanitarian, charity and voluntary non-governmental agency functioning in the areas of development and relief. It has branches all over the world, and financing offices in Britain, Australia and Denmark.

Since its inception, the Agency has been extending help to poor and needy women, children and orphans afflicted by poverty and ignorance. It has responded to calls by the poor and needy especially by orphans within the UAE and outside it.

 

Activities and projects of the Agency cover more than fifty countries around the world. Initially, it was established to render aid to victims of drought and starvation in Africa. However, it later extended its activities and programs to include Asian and other nations.

 

The Agency's objectives include application of the principle of social solidarity, development of needy communities by improving their living conditions (education, health, and economy), relief works for societies hit by natural or social disasters, and the establishment of close ties with similar agencies with a view to grasping the most up-to-date systems adopted by the United Nations in this field.

 

The Agency has an international status, being an advisor to the UN Social and Economic Council, observer at the Council of Governors of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, standing member of the World Islamic Council for Preaching and Relief, member of the World Council of Voluntary Organizations, and member of the Dubai Relief City. Moreover, the agency has signed agreements with the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNICEF, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Arabian Gulf Program for Supporting UN Development Agencies.

 

 

Through the following four development programs, the Agency implements varied activities and projects: 

(I) The Social Development Program through which the Agency sponsors orphans, handicapped people and poor families. Within the context of this program, the Agency also secures drinking water in drought-stricken areas by drilling wells. It also launches agricultural projects depending on underground water for local residents. Additionally, it establishes special centers for the rehabilitation and welfare of orphans and homeless children.    

 

(II) The Educational Development Program through which the agency builds schools, kindergartens and vocational training centers, establishes and runs centers for Quran memorization and mosques, as well as the provision of financial support, scholarships, and school bags for needy pupils.

 

(III)     The Immediate Relief Program through which the Agency establishes camps for refugees and provides immediate relief to those afflicted by natural disasters. It also provides the disaster-hit areas with badly needed tents, blankets, drugs and other items. In addition, it dispatches qualified volunteers to carry out relief work in stricken areas. 

 

(IV) The Healthcare Program through which the Agency has so far offered several and varied projects covering many countries and including the various aspects of healthcare, such as the provision of wheelchairs for the handicapped, spectacles and hearing aids, hospital and clinic equipment, and the dispatch of medical convoys to undertake relief work in disasterstricken areas.

 

Particularly outstanding among these projects were the clinics established by the Agency in Sri Lanka to alleviate suffering of people affected by the South-East Asian earthquake (Tsunami). Moreover, the Agency has extended aid to 4,310 people in Mauritania in 1989, and to 1 ,500 Asian and African workers who took refuge in Jordan during the Gulf War in 1990.

 

It has also offered medical aid to Kurds (13,000 refugees) in 1990. Palestine is also on the Agency's agenda. Most of the Agency's health projects were concentrated in Palestine where it equipped several hospitals and clinics with basic needs, thus enabling them to survive and keep up their humanitarian tasks.

 

Additionally, the Agency has provided numerous women's healthcare centers and delivery rooms in various countries. It also dispatched several health convoys to immunize children against lethal diseases.

 

The number of beneficiaries has reached 20 million, and the assistance provided by the Agency has reached fifty countries. Such assistance has been rendered through more than 15,000 charity and development projects which have greatly alleviated sufferings of the poor and the needy all over the world. It is interesting to note that 80 percent of the beneficiaries are women and children. The Agency sponsors 30,000 orphans, and secures healthcare through establishing and operating standing and mobile clinics, as well as the provision of equipment and basic materials for existing clinics. The Agency actively participates in health education and disease prevention programs, as well as in immunization campaigns.

 

For all these achievements, and due to the volume and level of its voluntary humanitarian works, Human Appeal International (UAE) deserves the Sheikh Harridan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences (Category of Volunteers in Medical and Humanitarian Services for the 2005-2006 session).