Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – As part of its ongoing humanitarian drives, Etihad Aviation Group is donating 10,000 scarves to refugee children in Lebanon. This initiative comes as part of the group's effort to support the United Nations in raising awareness about World Children's Day.
In collaboration with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the donation will be shipped and distributed to 10,000 refugee children in Lebanon between the age of 6 and 14 years old.
Dr Nadia Bastaki, Vice President Medical Services, and Corporate Social Responsibility Etihad Aviation Group, said: “These scarves were made by our employees with love, who volunteered to contribute to this humanitarian mission. We want to reach the most vulnerable children who have little protection from the cold this winter by providing them with an essential piece of clothing. We hope this donation will make a difference in their lives and draw a smile to their faces."
Every year on 20 November, Children's Day is celebrated to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide and improving children's welfare. In the MENA region, half of the refugees are children, and they suffer from limited or no protection during the winter season, leaving them exposed to preventable diseases and sickness, and stops them from going to school and practicing their everyday life.
“We are grateful to partners like Etihad, who understand the plight of refugees, especially during the harsh winter months, and continue to show their solidarity with the most vulnerable forcibly displaced through initiatives such as this,” stated Houssam Chahine, Chief of Private Sector Partnerships for UNHCR in MENA. “This year, an estimated 3.88 million refugees and internally
displaced people in the MENA region are in need of urgent and substantial help to properly prepare for winter, and require our collective support in order to protect their children from the cold season,” he added.
Last year, Etihad Aviation Group rolled out several drives to support children around the world, and more than 43,000 children have benefited from Etihad’s Corporate Social Responsibility projects.
