Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
The Mother of the Nation Endowment for Orphans campaign, launched on February 18, 2026, aims to provide sustained care for orphans across essential needs – education, healthcare and quality of life – through an endowment model built for longevity.
In a statement, Awqaf Abu Dhabi emphasised that social cohesion has served as a structural pillar of national resilience in the UAE. In 2026, designated as the “Year of Family,” the orientation takes on renewed momentum: The stability of society begins with the stability of families, and safeguarding those most vulnerable is not seasonal gesture of charity; but a sustained national commitment.
Within this framework, Awqaf Abu Dhabi noted that care for orphans stands as one of the clearest expressions of social maturity – an obligation that requires more than sentiment and demands enduring guarantees.
From One-off Giving to Sustainable Impact
Under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Endowments and Minors’ Funds Authority – Awqaf Abu Dhabi launched the Mother of the Nation Endowment for Orphans campaign, an initiative grounded in a practical understanding of shared responsibility.
Its premise is clear: to move beyond immediate donations. Contributions are converted into assets, professionally invested and institutionally managed, ensuring that support becomes continuous rather than episodic.
This approach reflects the authority’s broader message that endowment is not merely philanthropy, but a development tool, shifting assistance from temporary relief to a long-term system that strengthens social cohesion and generates intergenerational impact.
Leadership Rooted in Values
The campaign draws from a legacy shaped by the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose vision placed social care and human dignity at the heart of nation-building.
That legacy continues under the guidance of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), whose longstanding advocacy for family welfare and social inclusion has strengthened the UAE’s integrated care framework. Orphan care is not positioned at the margins of policy discourse; it is central to it.
Abdulhamid Mohammed Saeed, President of Endowments and Minors’ Funds Authority – Awqaf Abu Dhabi, said: “The 2026 campaign reaffirms our conviction that caring for orphans is not an intermittent act of charity but a permanent act of public responsibility and humanitarian vigour - one that must be organised, funded and governed so its benefits endure through generations.”
An Extended Family for the Orphan
The Emirati community has demonstrated repeatedly that its cohesion is not situational. In moments of difficulty, solidarity intensifies, initiatives expand, and the collective sense deepens.
The campaign embodies a simple yet profound idea: society itself can serve as the extended family for the orphan. Investing in an orphan’s psychological, educational, and social stability is an investment in the equilibrium of the community as a whole.
Saeed noted that the sacred texts bear witness to the greatness of this message. In Surah Al-Baqarah, God Almighty says: “They ask you O Prophet in what way they should donate. Say, 'Whatever donations you give are for parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, and needy travellers. Whatever good you do is certainly well known to Allah'.”
The Prophet (PBUH) said : “I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him will be in Paradise like this,” putting his index and middle fingers together.”
Through this powerful imagery, orphan sponsorship is elevated to a path that brings a believer into close companionship with the Prophet in Paradise, transforming acts of giving into a bridge between this world and the Hereafter.
A Commitment Beyond the Year
While 2026 carries the title “Year of Family”, the Chairman underscored that the values embodied by this designation extend far beyond a calendar cycle, a move towards stronger partnership between individuals and institutions, and towards systems where giving becomes sustainable and dependable.
He affirmed that in the UAE, orphans are not at the periphery of the national story, they are at its heart. “Through this endowment, our country reaffirms itself as a home where no one is left without belonging, and where shared responsibility builds a future of hope and dignity.”
