The third edition of the Arab Hope Makers awards ceremony kicked off Thursday at the Coca-Cola Arena in City Walk Dubai, amid the attendees of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Many Arab celebrities and media personalities also attended the ceremony. They included Egyptian media figures Mona El Shazly and Amr Adeeb, Egyptian actor Ahmed Helmy, Kuwaiti comedian-actor Tariq Al Ali, Saudi actor Fayez Al Malki, and Syrian actor Qusai Khouli.
UAE-Emirati philanthropist Ahmed Al Falasi– who dedicated his time and resources to establishing advanced kidney dialysis centers in Africa– was named the winner of the 2020 Arab Hope Makers by Sheikh Mohammed.
Al Falasi was named the winner after he was voted out a list of five finalists. He received the Dh1 million award by popular vote from the attendee. Sheikh Mohammed also gave the four other Dh1 million each as prize money.
The other finalists were:
- Dr. Mujahed Mustafa: Egyptian general surgeon who provides medical services for EGP10 or free-of-charge to the less fortunate in his village Tala, Beni Suef Governorate.
- Ali Al Ghamdi, from Saudi Arabia, who is widely known as "the father of the orphans" for sponsoring 7,000 orphans across Africa without external financial support.
- Steve Sosebee, an American with Palestinian nationality, who has dedicated his life to providing medical aid and prostheses for children in Gaza and the West Bank.
- Mohamed Bzeek, a Libyan-American, who has been housing and fostering abandoned terminally-ill children in the U.S.
The third edition drew over 92,000 entries from 38 countries, including 15 Arab countries – which Egypt had dominated the list, and 23 Western countries topped by Germany.
The ceremony was headlined by acclaimed artists such as Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter RedOne, Nawal El Kuwaitia, Emirati singer Balqees, and Palestinian pop star Mohammed Assaf.
The Arab Hope Maker is an annual award that was launched in 2017 by Sheikh Mohammed, honoring people for their humanitarian projects.
The 4-hour grand show also featured Sheikh Mohammed honoring, Dr. Magdi Yacoub, with a lifetime achievement award for his medical, scientific achievements and humanitarian contributions that impacted millions of lives around the world through a career spanning over five decades.
The ruler of Dubai had also declared Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre as the Arab Hope Makers’ Humanitarian Cause of the Year.
Furthermore, the grand variety show allocated its proceeds towards supporting the Heart Centre construction in a first since its foundation.
The centre— set to become among the region’s biggest specialized facility in cardiac care— will be named after Yacoub and provide excellent treatment, free-of-charge cardiovascular care to patients from vulnerable communities and the Arab world, who will be treated in a fully equipped facility with the latest research and surgical technologies and qualified medical staff.
It is expected for the center to conduct about 12,000 heart surgeries annually, 70% of which will be allocated for children, in addition to its clinics will also receive over 80,000 patients annually, which will provide the training of over 1,000 cardiologists and cardiac surgeons.
Dh88M Donations for a heart centre in Egypt
Leading Egyptian and UAE businessmen, as well as government figures donated a total of Dh88 million was raised during the awards ceremony, as was announced by Sheikh Mohammed.
The first hour of the ceremony saw the donation of Dh43M and EGP 1 million, which included the donation of Egyptian actor and comedian Ahmed Helmy, who was announced as the Ambassador of Hope, pledging an EGP 1 million.
Moreover, the Ruler of Dubai has also revealed that Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, will provide a donation that totals the amount raised at the ceremony.
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