Cycling4Gaza is organising a 350 km ride from Philadelphia to Washington DC that aims to raise US$250,000 to help the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, a US-based charity that provides medical help to Palestinian children.
DUBAI // An international charity is looking for UAE volunteers for a three-day cycling trek in the US to raise funds to treat sick and wounded children in Gaza.
Cycling4Gaza is organising a 350-kilometre ride from Philadelphia to Washington DC, aiming to raise US$250,000 (Dh918,300) to help the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, a US charity. Miral Alaraj, 27, a banker from Abu Dhabi, is coordinating the campaign with volunteers in Bahrain, London and Paris.
So far 16 people, including four from the UAE, have confirmed that they will take part after raising the $2,000 needed to register.
Ms Alaraj wants 40 people to ride. She hopes Ahmed Abu Nammous, from Jabaila Refugee Camp in Gaza, will be one. Last year Ahmed, 16, was shot by an Israeli sniper.
PCRF flew him to the US where he was fitted with a prosthetic leg. He had been in training until the Israeli strikes began on July 8.
“Fingers crossed, he can get out of Gaza,” said Ms Alaraj. “We are really hoping he can join us.”
The chance to raise money and awareness about the situation in Gaza is the motivation for Lina Abu Chaaban, a Dubai communications professional whose father was from Gaza.
“I have never been to Palestine, which is my home, but I was raised in a household where we all follow what is going on and Palestine was always very dear to my heart,” said Ms Abu Chaaban, 27, who was born in Germany and raised in the UAE.
“I wanted to give back to my country.”
She has taken part in two rides – Turkey in 2012 and in Germany last year – and had the chance to meet volunteers from all over the world.
“We were all driven by the same cause but we all had different motives,” Ms Abu Chaaban said.
Although unsure if she will be riding this year, she still intends to collect donations from people not taking part to reach the $250,000 target.
Since it was founded in 2009, Cycling4Gaza has raised more than $1.1 million to support vulnerable Palestinian communities.
Last year, the organisation joined up with PCRF to launch Reach Gaza, a programme that provides medical treatment to children by sending experienced medics to the occupied Gaza Strip, or sending children abroad for treatment.
With the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza killing more than 550 people in two weeks of fighting, the resources to help children will be stretched, said Ms Alaraj.
“The situation is very dire. This is very similar to what we saw in 2009 when Cycling4Gaza first started,” she said. “There is more need now for treatment and for attention and emergency medical relief.”
The ride will be the volunteer group’s sixth event, having held similar trips in the UK, France, Italy, Jordan, Turkey and Germany.
“We choose routes that are as easy as possible, as flat as possible,” Ms Alaraj said. “It is a bit of a push but everyone can do it with a bit of training.”
The deadline to register for the ride is August 4. Donations can also be made at the group's website cycling4gaza.com
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based:Dubai
Founders:Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11 What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time. TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
