Few leaders are shining beacons of learning and culture. His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, is one of them. He is not only heavily oriented towards looking after the needs of his people, books and heritage, he is also a fountain of benevolence. As President of the American University of Sharjah (AUS) he approved Dhs100 million as a budget for scientific research at AUS for the academic year 2021-2022. This is highly praiseworthy.

The gesture came during his meeting with Dr. Susan Mumm, the new AUS Chancellor.

Scientific research gives a fillip to students to innovate and conduct research that contributes to serving humanity.

During the meeting, strategic plans that the university is working on through its teaching and administrative staff, modern facilities and laboratories, and research institutes were addressed.

Dr. Susan Mumm thanked Sheikh Sultan for his kind gesture.

Generosity runs in the family. Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) and UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, has also like the foundation she has founded, a big heart. She truly cares for the downtrodden and the poor – and those in distress. She allocated Dhs6 million worth of medications to be shipped from the UAE, to support young cancer patients in the Children’s Cancer Centre of Lebanon (CCCL), as a response to the hardship impacting all sectors in the country, especially the health sector.

TBHF, the Sharjah-based global humanitarian organisation, will mobilise the funds to ship essential medications to Lebanon in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) and CCCL.

The funds were allocated to fulfil the medication needs of all 660 child and adolescent patients for a one-year period to ensure treatment continuity.

Sheikha Jawaher affirmed TBHF’s and the Emirati community’s strong solidarity with the Lebanese people as they face escalating challenges due to a dearth of vital supplies of food, medicine, and other essentials. Sheikha Jawaher pointed out that the bond that joins the people of this region is unbreakable.

She said, “Our solidarity with the Lebanese community remains strong as ever; consistent with our ideals of friendship and humanity. Today, we reaffirm that we feel the pain of every patient in Lebanon, and that every child in need there is one of our own children. We will always stand by every individual who needs a helping hand.”

That is the credo of Sheikh Sultan too. In a move to improve the condition of those with low-paid salaries, Sheikh Sultan raised the minimum salary of Emiratis to Dhs25,000. This stems from his desire to provide a decent standard of living for members of society.

He also looks after welfare projects in the emirate; he visited the sites of a number of modern development projects in the city of Kalba.

Sheikh Sultan revealed that the number of retirees from all non-local entities in the emirate is 4,000 men and women, and putting them on the emirate’s budget requires Dhs250 million annually, and “accordingly we have developed a plan to employ their children.”

To support their families, the employment of 2 graduates brings in Dhs50,000 to the house.

Preservation of the arts is also paramount to his thinking.  Sheikh Sultan donated 12,000 titles comprising rare and valuable publications specialised in the history of Arab and Islamic art and architecture, to the House of Wisdom (HoW).

The donation reflects the Sharjah Ruler’s continued drive to enrich local and regional libraries and institutions with valuable content and position the House of Wisdom as the go-to place for researchers and academics.