Aid workers in Dubai are asking residents just Dh4 a day to help child war victims in "the world’s poorest country", Sierra Leone.

A civil war ravaged the diamond-rich West African nation from 1991 to 2000 and the United Nations recently put it at the bottom of a list of the most underdeveloped places on Earth.

In her first visit to Dubai, Sierra Leone’s First Lady Alice Koroma met UN officials and representatives of the All As One non-government organization, on Monday - The International Day of the African Child.

The International Day is held every June 16, the day on which hundreds of school children rallying for better education were shot in South Africa, in 1976. Around half a million children in Sierra Leone are without access to basic schooling.

"The [civil] war has left some very difficult legacies and a great number of orphans is one of them. The children are in need of food, housing, education, medical support. Humanitarian workers are making arduous efforts to improve their situation and give them hope," said Koroma at the International Humanitarian City (IHC) here.

"The world must know the children’s plight. I’m here to publicise that. Dubai has determined managers – or I wouldn’t have come this far."
All As One [AAO] provides food, shelter, healthcare and education for orphans in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital city. Apart from its homeland, AAO is registered in IHC and the US.

Through its website aaodubai.org, the NGO is running its Four Dirhams A Day campaign – starting at Dh120 a month - to find a sponsor for each of the estimated 70 children under its care.

"Life in the Emirates is very sheltered, which makes people think everything is OK in the world. But what are we doing to give something to people in less fortunate countries?" said Matthew Morgan-Jones, the UAE country director of AAO.

Each new welfare facility on freshly-acquired six acres of land by AAO in Grafton will cost about Dh360,000, added Morgan-Jones, who has adopted four children from Sierra Leone.

"The orphans there live on the streets, as a makeshift family. You can get on a plane and be here, next to the world’s tallest building and best shopping malls, in eight hours. That’s fine, but everyone should try to make a difference in their own way – if they really try," he said.

Meanwhile, Sierra Leone is "ready for business" and trying to learn from Dubai’s economic success story, said Koroma.

Though the country has one of the richest diamonds reserves anywhere, around half population of Sierra Leone is employed in the farming industry.

Dh120 should cover a child’s monthly food needs there, estimates AAO.