WAM Sharjah, 10th May 2012 (WAM) -- H. H. Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council member and Ruler of Sharjah, paid today a visit to Kalba as part of his regular tours to acquaint himself with conditions and needs of citizens.

Sheikh Sultan attended the distribution of the last library of Sheikh Haitham bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Deputy Director of the Ruler's Office in Kalba, as part of the Culture without Borders initiative. Organising committee said about 225,000 titles had been given out to 4,500 families in Kalba. The initiative comes under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan with the aim of providing books for all ages in every home in the emirate.

Sheikh Sultan hailed efforts made by the organisers and urged those who received the books to benefit from the wealth of culture and knowledge at their hands.

Sheikh Haitham praised Sheikh Sultan's initiatives for developing the cultural character of citizens across the emirate and his efforts to promote Sharjah's active cultural role locally and internationally.

This project, he added, has far-reaching positive impact on building the human being.

He also thanked Sheikha Budoor bint Sultan Al Qassimi, President of Culture without Borders, for her tireless efforts to provide every house with a library to encourage reading and cultural awareness among all ages of community segments.

The objectives of the unique project include promoting reading and highlighting its role in the intellectual development of children as well as deepening the general knowledge of the community in the UAE.

Rashid Mohammed Quss, Project Manager of Culture Without Borders, said Kalba is the tenth destination the project has so far reached.

''The AED 150 million cultural initiative aims at reaching out to book lovers and readers in every corner of the emirate, especially remote areas, to establish a library at every home,'' he added.

The project, a Sharjah Government initiative, hopes to encourage parents and children to spend more time reading and, with this aim in mind, the organization intends to provide a library of Arabic books for around 42,000 families in the emirate of Sharjah over the course of this year.

Later, Sheikh Sultan also met with citizens of Kalba who expressed their delight at the visit and his care for their comfort.

WAM/TF