Canadian University Of Dubai Students Sleep Rough For Charity

Sixteen students at the Canadian University of Dubai are raising money for charity by sleeping rough on campus.

For the first time female students are taking part in Five Days For the Homeless, a Canadian initiative which aims to create awareness of people living rough on the streets and raise money for good causes.

Eight male students have been sleeping on campus under the stars since Sunday 9thMarch and will finish on Thursday 13thMarch. The eight female students have not been sleeping outside, but have been helping to collect money from generous fellow students in a bid to raise over AED15,000 for the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children.

“Donations have ranged from one dirham coins to 200 dirham notes,” said 19-year-old public relations student, Judy Shebib. “We are thankful to everyone who has donated and we are hopeful that we will hit our target because it is for a very good cause.

“I saw the students doing this last year and I was keen to get involved then, so when the opportunity came up to do it this year, I jumped at it,” she added. “It is great that we can get involved as female students because it is going to a women’s charity and we have a strong empathy with that.”

Some of the students are taking part for a second and third year. E-business student, Tiwaloluwa Omope, has been involved in Five Days For The Homeless for the past three years admits that it is a topic close to his heart.

“When I lived in Ghana I saw poverty and homelessness everyday,” he said. “It is a terrible thing to see and for people to go through and when I heard about the scheme when I first came to the university I knew I had to be involved.”

The students are joined by Aziz Mulay-Shah - a Canadian Ambassador from the Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development who is on sabbatical at the university – who will support the students by sleeping rough for one night.

“It’s a wonderful initiative and it is great to see these students showing a sense of social responsibility and community,” he said. “It’s important therefore that we show some solidarity with them and do what we can to support them.”

The Five Days For The Homeless initiative was launched at the University of Alberta School of Business in 2005. The sixteen students from Dubai will be joined by students from over 24 universities in Canada, with the Canadian University in Dubai being the only place outside Canada to take part.

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Mar 12, 2014

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