Dubai's Princess Haya just gave $40 million to needy families in Jordan

Princess Haya bint Hussein, the wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, ruler of Dubai and prime minister of the UAE, and her children have just donated 145 million Dirhams (approximately $40 million) to the Tkiyet Um Ali charity in Jordan. 

This contribution was made in honor of Princess Haya's parents: King Hussein and Queen Ali of Jordan. They both passed away in the month of February; the 7th of 1999 and the 9th of 1977 respectively.

Princess Haya took to social media to personally pay homage to her parents. She remembered her father fondly, calling him "the father of all Jordanians in our hearts", and her mother -Queen Alia- "the mother of the poor."

Queen Alia originally came up with the idea of Tkiyet Um Ali some 40 years ago. Since then, the charity has been providing assistance to thousands of families who live beneath the poverty line.  

It currently provides aid to some 18,000 needy families, with food insecurity more than tripling in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis.  

Now, the charity aims to reach 30,000 families, and Princess Haya has been working alongside her brother Prince Ali bin Al Hussein in hopes of fulfilling this goal. 

Princess Haya is not the only one being generous this year. 

The UAE was voted the most generous world donor in 2016 for the second consecutive year. It was revealed that the UAE has given the largest percentage of gross national income of any country to development assistance. 

Furthermore, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has declared 2017 "the year of giving."

Sheikh Khalifa hopes it will enhance the country's spirit of volunteering and encourage young Emiratis to serve their country.

Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid has also weighed in, saying that focusing on charitable works in 2017 will further affirm the country's role as one of the world’s leading humanitarian donors.

In addition to that, the charity Dubai Cares has just celebrated 10 years of aiding children in developing countries.

The organization started by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid has helped more than 16 million people in 45 struggling nations.

According to The National, Tariq Al Gurg, chief executive of Dubai Cares since 2009, based the success of the philanthropic institution on Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, the first President of the UAE, who once said that "it is the people who we have to develop, it is the education we have to support." 

Dubai Cares was once affiliated with the UN and other NGOs and INGOs, but has since developed its own charity scheme. In 2009, it started to forge its own plans to challenge the educational problems developing countries face.