The initiative comes from the employees of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank on the occasion of the Year of Zayed … reports Asian Lite News.
Al Ehsan Charity Park on Tuesday witnessed the planting of 100 trees as a collective Waqf (endowment), an initiative from the employees of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank on the occasion of the Year of Zayed. Officials of Dubai Municipality’s Public Parks and Horticulture Department were present on the occasion.
Dubai Municipality had started implementing the Al Ehsan Charity Park project at a cost of Dhs10 million, in coordination with the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy (MBRGCEC).
The park is being planted using an innovative methodology based on collective outsourcing. The community members have the opportunity to participate in the new park by donating palm trees from their homes and farms to be a charity in the name of the UAE community and the returns from the proceeds of the palm trees will go for the needy.
The project comes in support of the endowment innovative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, through MBRGCEC. The new park adopts the concept of group outsourcing, a concept that has been successfully used in many economic projects where community members contribute small amounts to economic projects.
Al Ehsan Charity Park will be the first charity park in the world to be a sustainable endowment in the name of the UAE community and a witness to the charity activities deep routed in the UAE,” said Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Awadhi, Director of the Public Parks and Horticulture Department at the Municipality.
“The park has opened up new areas of collective contributions in an innovative way that will establish charity for generations. Community members participate collectively by donating the finest palm trees from their homes and farms to create this innovative endowment on behalf of the UAE community,” he added.
The project aims to open the doors of sustainable charity for all members of the community based on the endowment of palm trees, which is one of the well-established societal practices that serve charity, the oldest endowment deed, which is more than 125 years old. The new park revives the endowment of palm trees but with a collective concept that allows the charity of all members of the society.
The park is located on a 15 hectare plot next to Mushrif Park in Dubai and is expected to produce 150 tons of dates annually. The project includes parking for about 200 cars, a parking facility for buses at 500 sq meter area, main building of 320 sq metres with a floor area of 650 sq meters, main entrance, a 2,000 sq meter plaza area, irrigation channels and a walking track.
On the mechanism of donation for individuals, Al Awadhi pointed out that the date palm trees are selected from a well-known species, which is rich in production and faster in growth. The trees should be mature, well-formed and of good root variety, with a length of 0.5-1 meters. In order to ensure the homogeneity of growth, individuals can donate known varieties such as Al Naghal, Al Khalas, Al Khanezi, Al-Burhi and Al Hilali.
When transporting palm trees, care should be taken when they are lifted to the vehicle, so that there is no bruising, stem or vegetative wounds, which adversely affects their growth at the site and should be well covered during transport so as not to dry the whole vegetation, lose moisture and lead to tree dryness and death. In order to protect it from external influences, it is preferred not to exceed the time of removal of the tree from its original location until the planting area for more than 5 days, and prefer to move trees either early morning or evening to minimize loss of moisture and preservation of vitality.
If the donor wishes to plant palm trees, he should mention this from the beginning, so that the Public Parks and Horticulture Department can supervise the planting work by the agricultural workers coming from the donor.
The donor must contact the Municipality’s Call Center on 800900 and submit a request specifying the required data (location / number / product / telephone).