WAM DUBAI: Sheikha Al-Yaziyah Bint Saif Bint Mohammed Al-Nahyan, wife of H.H Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the foreign minister, and Sheikha Fatima Bint Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on Tuesday were honored by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), the Emirates Green Building Council and Istidama, the Dubai-based Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability consultants, for their work at the UAE chapter of Operation Smile and their support to the community.

The awards were handed over to Sheikha Fatima Bint Abdullah Zayed on behalf on Sheikha Al-Yaziyah at a ceremony in Dubai.

In remarks at the ceremony, Sheikh Fatima said:" Since its launch in 2011, Operation Smile UAE has funded 5 medical missions to four countries and surgeries to treat 500 children and juniors born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate." Sheikha Fatima urged for more support to the charity to restore smiles to children's faces.

"By encouraging a community spirit where everyone can help to change children's lives we build sustainability. We at Operation Smile believe that Every Child Deserves a Smile," Sheikha Fatima said.

For his part, the director general of DCCI Hamad Buamim hailed Sheikha Fatima being an exemplary model for the youth in terms of her ethical commitment to social and environmental issues. He added that she was honored for her support to charity work, responsible practices and Emirati community development.

"Sheikha Fatima is an excellent ambassador for the UAE and a role model for our younger generation in terms of how we should aim to live our lives by helping others," he said.

The award ceremony was held on the sidelines of the International Green Awards Sustainability Summit, hosted by DCCI as part of World Environment Day celebrations.

The Virginia-based Operation Smile is an international children's medical charity with programs and chapters in more than 60 countries, and provider of free reconstructive surgery for children and young adults around the world who suffer from facial deformities. in 2011, it launched its UAE chapter in a grand ceremony held here under the patronage of Sheikha Al Yaziya bint Saif Al Nahyan, .

Operation Smile UAE is a message of hope for children with facial deformities as it will coordinate programs for training physicians, manage programs to assist in reaching cleft lip and cleft palate repair self-sufficiency, and support education and research programs to eradicate cleft lips and palates. Operation Smile UAE builds partnerships with leading academic and medical institutions and the private sector to offer training in new and advanced techniques.

WAM/MMYS