Big Heart Foundation brings together over 12,000 students from Sharjah to support 750 Egyptian pupils

The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) has launched the fourth edition of ''Educate the Heart," bringing together more than 12,000 students, 47 teachers and 47 schools across Sharjah for a year-long programme of student-led fundraising and awareness activities that will support the rehabilitation and equipping of Nagaa Said Basic Education School in Dishna, Qena, Egypt, benefiting approximately 750 students.

The 2026-2027 edition was launched during an orientation session held at SPARK — Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, attended by approximately 80 students and teachers from participating schools. The session introduced participants to the humanitarian project they will support throughout the academic year and the role their school communities will play.

The project is expected to create a safer, better-equipped and more inclusive learning environment for approximately 750 students.

For the first time since Educate the Heart was launched, all participating schools will work towards one shared education project, giving students a direct connection between the initiatives they create in Sharjah and the difference their collective efforts can help make for another school community.

Throughout the academic year, participating students will design and implement fundraising and awareness initiatives within their schools, engaging classmates, teachers, parents and school communities. Activities may include charity markets, storytelling sessions, art-based initiatives, creative campaigns and other school-led events that raise funds while building greater awareness of humanitarian and educational needs.

Funds raised through these efforts will contribute to the rehabilitation and equipping of Nagaa Said Basic Education School. The project will be implemented by TBHF in partnership with Misr El Kheir Foundation.

Officials and students during the launching ceremony of 'Educate the Hearth.'

The proposed scope includes the rehabilitation of school infrastructure, improvements to classrooms and learning spaces, the provision of educational resources and support for teaching staff development. The final technical scope is currently being completed.

The project is expected to create a safer, better-equipped and more inclusive learning environment for approximately 750 students. It also aims to strengthen enrolment and attendance, improve learning outcomes and encourage more children, particularly girls, to remain in education.

Launched in 2022 under the direction of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of The Big Heart Foundation, Educate the Heart was established to give young people a practical role in humanitarian action and help them understand social responsibility through direct participation.

Funds raised through these efforts will contribute to the rehabilitation and equipping of Nagaa Said Basic Education School.

The initiative is built on the belief that humanitarian values become more meaningful when young people are given the opportunity to put them into practice. By understanding a real need, developing their own responses and mobilising others around a shared purpose, students experience how collective effort can translate into meaningful change.

Since its launch in 2022, Educate the Heart has engaged more than 30,000 students through practical, school-led activities that introduce young people to humanitarian responsibility.

Mariam Al Hammadi, Advisory Board Member of The Big Heart Foundation, said: "Education has a role that extends far beyond academic achievement. It also shapes how young people understand their place within society, the responsibilities they carry towards others and the contribution they are capable of making.

"Schools are among the first environments in which young people learn what it means to collaborate, take responsibility and work towards a shared purpose. Giving students opportunities to lead initiatives with real social value helps turn these principles into behaviours they can carry with them throughout their lives.

"Through Educate the Heart, our aim is to embed humanitarian responsibility early and make empathy, initiative and contribution part of how young people understand success. Our ambition is to make humanitarian responsibility part of how young people think, act and lead."

At the conclusion of the programme, participating schools will be recognised through the Gold Heart, Silver Heart and Bronze Heart Awards, celebrating their contributions throughout the academic year.

The Gold Heart Award-winning school will receive a trophy and certificate of recognition, dedicated visibility through TBHF's platforms and media coverage, and an invitation to participate in one of the Foundation's community engagement activities.

The Silver and Bronze Heart Award recipients will also receive formal recognition and visibility through TBHF's platforms, with selected media opportunities for the Silver Heart winner.

Representatives from the Gold Heart Award-winning school will also take part in a fully funded educational and humanitarian visit to Qena, Egypt. During the visit, they will meet members of the school community they supported, participate in volunteer and interactive activities and see firsthand how the ideas and activities developed in their own schools translated into improvements for another school community.

The visit will complete the journey students began in Sharjah, connecting the action they led throughout the academic year with the people and community their efforts were created to support.