DUBAI // An Emirati banker who walked from Abu Dhabi to Dubai has raised Dh50,000 for a special-needs charity.
Nasser Ibrahim, 32, walked 100km along the busy E11 motorway for the Rashid Centre for the Disabled.
He set off from Abu Dhabi Airport at noon on Saturday and arrived at Dubai Internet City 52 hours later, on Monday at 4pm.
Mr Ibrahim, who is a Mashreq bank employee, was accompanied on the last 1km of the walk by staff from Mashreq.
Children from the Rashid Centre also met him at the finish line.
“I am very happy to have completed the final kilometre alongside my colleagues,” he said.
“It is very close to my heart and raising awareness about disability is very important and more needs to be done.
“I would like to thank Mashreq for their support and donation, which are valuable to continue the upkeep of the centre and I look forward to my eighth walkathon next year.”
This is the seventh consecutive year that Mr Ibrahim has completed the walk. This year, he was accompanied by his nephew, Zubair, 22, who has done the walk once before.
The pair each carried a backpack weighing nine kilograms, which held water and a tent that they used to camp by the side of the road. They ate at petrol stations during the journey.
The Dh50,000 in donations was raised by Mashreq. The bank’s chief executive, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, presented the cheque on Monday.
“We would like to congratulate Nasser on his achievement and raising money for such a worthy cause and centre in the UAE,” he said.
“This money will go towards the sustainability of the Rashid Centre for the Disabled and raising awareness about disability in the UAE. We need to integrate these children because they have just as much talent and ability as other children.
“As a UAE national financial institution, our focus is to support similar issues in our community and we certainly look forward to doing so on other occasions.”
newsdesk@thenational.ae
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