Dubai, United Arab Emirates: About 200 employees of the Al Shirawi Engineering Services Group ran the 4 km ‘Fun Run’ of the highly-anticipated Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on January 22, 2016. The 16th edition of the annual charitable event held the title of ‘Seeing is Believing,’ Standard Chartered’s global initiative to tackle avoidable blindness and visual impairment.
At 11 am, the employees of Al Shirawi ESG took off in blistering speeds from the start line at Al Wasl Road, near the Jalila Foundation and ended the run at the Dubai Police Academy, at the end of Umm Suqeim Road. CEO of Al Shirawi ESG, Navin Valrani, also participated in the Fun Run.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and with the support of the Dubai Sports Council, this year’s event saw 30,000 people taking to the streets of Dubai in the 42km Marathon, the 10km Road Race and the 4km Fun Run.
In 2003, Seeing is Believing was launched as a collaboration between Standard Chartered Bank, The International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and leading eye health organisations. The initiative seeks to improve the quality of life for the blind by providing access to affordable and quality eye health.
According to the Dubai Marathon website, there are an estimated 39 million blind people in the world and a further 246 million who suffer from moderate or severe visual impairment. 80% of blindness and visual impairment is preventable or treatable.
Every year, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon raises funds for different charitable causes, receiving much support from corporate entities and the general public.
About Al Shirawi:
Al Shirawi Group of Companies, operating under the legal name of Oasis Investment Company, is a UAE-headquartered conglomerate with operations across the GCC region. The Group consists of 34 companies operating across nine business areas: Printing & Packaging, Oil & Gas, Logistics, Heavy Equipment, Manufacturing, Electronics, Engineering Services, Trading and Online Media & Publishing. Founded in 1971, the Group today employs over 8500 employees.
For further information, please contact:
Sheetal Thomas
Corporate Communications
Email: sheetal.thomas@alshirawi.ae
Mobile: +971 50 106 3246