Over 50 projects in 12 countries supported by the Foundation in last 20 years, spanning education, food, clean water, healthcare and housing

DUBAI, UAE, 2 September 2024: Emirates has rolled out a new A380 livery dedicated to raising awareness around the Emirates Airline Foundation’s humanitarian work, which has transformed the lives of thousands of children around the world.

The A380 livery’s design is inspired by the playful elements of the Emirates Airline Foundation’s logo, incorporating the theme of children’s artwork with pastel stars in light green, warm orange, baby blue and soft pink across the fuselage, rounded off with a bold message that encapsulates the Foundation’s mission – ‘Help to support children in need’. All four engine cowls of the Emirates A380 have also been adorned in the warm orange hue, symbolising a better future for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children that the Foundation supports. Watch the livery come to life here

The new livery has taken the airline’s philanthropic message to the skies, and the aircraft heads to Johannesburg, South Africa, today where the Foundation supports two important projects.

Operating under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman & Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, the Emirates Airline Foundation is a non-profit charity organisation providing humanitarian, philanthropic aid and essential services for children, with the aim to create meaningful, sustainable and lasting impact in the communities that it serves.

Over the last twenty years, The Emirates Airline Foundation has supported over 50 projects, partnering with numerous community-based organisations and NGOs to deepen their work and serve the critical developmental needs of children for safe housing, food and medical care, and empowerment through education and capacity development, irrespective of geography, background, political associations or religion. Funding towards projects is made possible by the generous donations made onboard or online by Emirates customers, donors and employees.

The projects supported by the Foundation have mainly been focused in Emirates’ destinations, where the airline’s employee volunteers can actively donate their time and oversee their management.

The Foundation currently supports 14 NGOs in 9 countries, which includes Emirates-CHES Home, a safe haven for 100 abandoned HIV positive children who regularly receive medical support and care; IMMPACT Girls Education Project in rural India which provided education through community-based learning centres to 5,000 girls last year and face to-face training sessions for almost 1,500 teachers; Prithipura Communities in Sri Lanka supporting 240 infants, children and young adults with disabilities through specialist care, education, vocational training and employment opportunities; Virlanie Foundation in the Philippines where funding from the Emirates Airline Foundation helps reach out to abandoned, abused, exploited, neglected and orphaned children. The Foundation also helped to bring the Emirates Friendship Hospital in Bangladesh to life for over a decade, and healthcare has been made available to over 650,000 people living in poverty.

In Kenya, the Foundation supports three organisations:  The Little Prince Nursery and Primary School providing holistic education and rehabilitation for children, and the Foundation has supported its meal programme since 2014; Alfajiri Street Kids which offers a safe space and a range of programmes focusing on art therapy for more than 200 children; Starehe Boys’ Centre which delivers academic support for underprivileged boys and includes a high school and multiple tertiary programmes. The Foundation sponsors four-year scholarships for 10 boys studying at the school.  

In South Africa and Zimbabwe, the Foundation’s focus on holistic education and medical care includes: Fikelela Children’s Centre which is committed to serving children afflicted with HIV/AIDS. The Foundation supports the running costs of the centre and has also funded new facilities to help care for and house 40 young children, including infants who have been neglected or abandoned because of the virus. Singakwenza aims to support early childhood education for low-income communities in South Africa, and the Foundation has provided training for 71 practitioners to create learning opportunities for 970 young children.  St Marcellin’s Children’s Village cares for orphaned and homeless children in Zimbabwe, many with physical disabilities, blindness and HIV, and over 70 children are currently under the care of the organisation with the Foundation’s support.

In Brazil, the Saint Rita de Cassia Orphanage houses 96 orphaned and abandoned girls in Rio de Janeiro and provides shelter, education and care from ages 4-14. Externato Sao Francisco de Assis is a non-profit that cares for underprivileged children, often from single-parent families and operates a school with more than 70 pre-school students.

In its home base of Dubai, the Foundation supports SAFE Centre for Autism, a facility that offers a safe and inclusive environment for children struggling with complex learning difficulties.

In the last financial year, 20 other NGOs have also benefited from the Foundation, with over 500 flight tickets issued on Emirates to volunteers conducting medical, engineering and education missions around the globe. Missions include Virginia Children’s Connection to perform plastic surgery, cleft lip repair, and burn care for more than 275 patients in India; World Wide Smiles (FWWS) travelled to Uganda to offer dental healthcare; Global Smile Foundation journeyed to Lebanon to perform surgery on children born with cleft palate and lip; Operation of Hope Worldwide sent 46 medical professionals from various countries to perform transformative surgeries in Zimbabwe for conditions such as cleft lips and severe burn injuries; and Australian Doctors for Africa went to Ethiopia to conduct  intensive training in orthopaedics and wound management.

The Emirates Airline Foundation is regulated by the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai (IACAD) and is licensed by the Government of Dubai.