Twelve people in Bahrain will see their dreams come true thanks to a new initiative launched on Monday.

One person every month will be chosen to receive funding from telecom operator Zain Bahrain to support their innovative projects.

The only criteria are that they should help empower youth, support education, sports and healthy lifestyles, or help care for people with special needs.

Bahrainis and expats can submit ideas to the company's 'Dreams Come True' With Zain campaign, which will continue until March next year.

No budget has been set and funding will be decided on a case-by-case basis, company officials announced.

Applications will be received from today, company chief operation officer Dr Ahmed Al Shatti told a Press conference at the Gulf Hotel.

"People have dreams, they have aspirations but cannot always fulfil them for several reasons, including financial constraints," he said.

"That is where we come in. We all have dreams and for some of us, it is in our own hands to try and make them come true.

"But for many people, turning dreams into reality is made more difficult either through lack of having the right contacts, no funding, physical disadvantages or even the lack of confidence in their own abilities.

"We want to give such people a unique chance to have their dreams come true."

He said the themes at the centre of the scheme are at the heart of Zain's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

"We will provide forms at all our outlets and through the website so that people can write down what they aspire for and leave the rest to our panel of judges," said Dr Al Shatti.

"Teams will also visit charitable organisations to publicise the initiative and, at the end of each month, the judges will review each and every application and select one winner, based on the applicant's suitability to the CSR criteria.

Choices

Company corporate communications manager Samya Hussain said the applicants would be required to submit a short summary of their dream, why and where they need help in making it a reality and how it relates to the company's three CSR areas.

"Since we launched operations in Bahrain in 2003, we have always looked to contribute to Bahraini society," she said. Hussain stressed the campaign was not a "lucky-draw".

"Therefore, each request should be carefully presented, appropriate to their three key CSR areas and be able to demonstrate a real benefit as to how making that dream come true will benefit society or the individual," she said.

Hussain said the unsuccessful applicants would be eligible to re-submit entries each month.

The panel of judges includes Bahrain University Professor Dr Fouad Shehab, Ahlia University president Prof Abdulla Al Hawaj, Social Development Ministry under-secretary for community development Waheed Al Qasim, General Organisation for Youth and Sports youth development director Amal Al Dosari, Children and Mother's Welfare Society chairwoman Sheikha Aisha bint Salman Al Khalifa, Shura Council member and Al Waqt newspaper editor Ibrahim Bashmi, Waleed Al Thawadi from Radio Bahrain and Rotarian Nijad Al Atassi.-TradeArabia News Service