Telethon raises Dh 165m for Somalis
ABU DHABI // A charity telethon for tens of thousands of Somalian children facing starvation raised Dh165 million within hours on Friday. There was an overwhelming response from the public to the campaign, which was broadcast on Abu Dhabi TV, Dubai TV and Sharjah TV from 2pm to 8pm.
People and public and private institutions flocked to donation centres to support the Emirates Red Crescent’s For You, Somalia campaign, launched this month under the directives of the President, Sheikh Khalifa.
The donations will go to provide suffering Somalis with food, water, medicine and other necessities to help them survive their third famine in 25 years.
Dr Hamdan Al Mazroui, chair- man of the Emirati Red Crescent Authority, donated Dh1m.
He said the attack on a team from Emirates Red Crescent last Wednesday in Mogadishu would not hinder aid operations. Luckily, there were no casualties.
“Our humanitarian teams and volunteers proved to the world that the UAE humanitarian work will continue,” he said.
Sharjah Charity International gave Dh1.5m to the campaign. “We have also allocated Dh2.5m of relief aid, which was despatched to Somalia by a committee and in coordination with Somalia’s foreign affairs ministry and the UAE Embassy in Mogadishu,” said Abdullah Al Dhukhan, secretary-general of the charity.
Dar Al Ber Society donated Dh500,000 to the campaign. “The campaign’s aim is to stand beside the Somali people, limit their suffering and lift the hunger pangs that they suffer from the drought,” said Abdullah Al Falasi, executive director of the society.
Mr Al Falasi said the campaign showed the world how passionate the UAE was about humanitarian work. “I was in Somalia and I witnessed sad stories there,” said Muhammad Ibrahim, first secretary of the Somalian embassy.
“There has been a drought for the past five years, which led to an exodus to Mogadishu.
“The Somali government extends its gratitude to the UAE for the humanitarian work they are carrying out in Somalia, including well-digging in the central region of Somalia.”
The UN has warned that about 360,000 Somali children suffer from acute malnutrition.
Yesterday, The UN World Food Programme flew in high-energy biscuits and medicines from Dubai to Mogadishu to support 31,000 people for three days, state news agency Wam said.