By Sherouq Sadeqi
(with photos) WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (KUNA) -- For the second consecutive year, Sheikha Rima Al-Sabah, wife of Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United States Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah, ranked among the 100 most prominent movers and shakers on Washingtonian magazine's annual list of most powerful women in Washington. Al-Sabah, who raised USD three million to support the United Service Organization's (USO) morale-boosting programs for U.S. troops and their families, by hosting the highly-coveted Kuwait America Foundation dinner, ranked alongside other influential females such as First Lady Michele Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the newly appointed IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
In an exclusive statement to KUNA, Sheikha Rima Al-Sabah said "I am honored and humbled to be included among such an impressive list of powerful women in Washington." She continued saying "it is thanks to my country Kuwait and the support it continuously gives me that I am able to do the philanthropic work that I do." Al-Sabah, who topped the list in the category of "International Powers," added that the philanthropic work she does is a "continuation of a Kuwaiti tradition as Kuwait is a model for its philanthropic work and the assistance it provides to needy countries." This year's gala dinner honored the 20th anniversary of the Liberation of Kuwait and the 70th anniversary of the USO.Donations gathered at the event will help build two new centers for wounded soldiers at Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center and at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is the latest of many philanthropic endeavors that Al-Sabah has undertaken in the years she and Ambassador Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah have resided in Washington. As for her future projects, Al-Sabah said that the next gala dinner will raise USD two million and will benefit the Women World Banking foundation and the establishment of endowment funds that will provide micro credit loans to women in Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon.
Every year, Kuwait's Ambassador Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Sheikha Rima Al-Sabah hold a gala dinner to raise money for a different beneficiary.
Over USD 11 million has been raised in the past seven years for humanitarian, educational, health and environmental causes in the Asian, African and Latin continents. Keynote speakers and special guests at the annual gala dinners have included former U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush, former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, Hollywood stars Ben Affleck, Leonardo Dicaprio, Michael Douglas and Angelina Jolie.
The Al-Sabahs' gala dinners with their star-studded guest list have become one of Washington's most sought-after and exclusive event. (end) si.rk KUNA 080926 Oct 11NNNN