GIVE A LITTLE TO HELP MANY THROUGHOUT THE HOLY MONTH
Katy Gillett rounds up the UAE initiatives taking donations to help feed those in need
Charity and looking out for those less fortunate is an important part of Ramadan. After more than a year of battling against the pandemic, there are more people in need than ever. This year, there are numerous initiatives set up to allow members of the public to donate free meals to children, families and people who need them most, whether you want to do this by donating money or by choosing a box of food supplies or an iftar meal to be sent directly to their door. Here are some ways you can donate.
100 Million Meals
What is it? The UAE has set out a plan to fund 100 million free meals in 20 countries across the region, in one of the biggest food drives of its kind. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled a major campaign to ensure people in need do not go hungry. He said there are 820 million people undernourished globally, including 52 million in the Middle East and North Africa.
The campaign is an expansion of last year’s 10 Million Meals initiative, which helped people in the UAE who lost jobs or had their salaries cut. It also worked to feed people who would normally end their fast at free iftars in mosques and public places, which had to be cancelled because of the pandemic.
How can you donate? A website, www.100millionmeals. ae, set up for the campaign allows people to donate as little as Dh10 to fund 10 meals, rising to Dh500 or more. You can also do this via SMS or bank transfer, and even over the phone. All details on how to donate are available on the site.
A Meal for a Brighter Tomorrow
What is it? Developer Dubai Holding and the United Nations World Food Programme have teamed up for a year-long partnership aimed at supporting child nutrition in countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. As part of this, the first joint campaign is called A Meal for a Brighter Tomorrow, which will ensure school meals reach children in need.
Today, about 73 million children around the world go to school hungry, according to the UNWFP. In the Mena region, millions of primary and secondary pupils are out of school as a result of poverty and conflict-induced displacement. The campaign hopes to provide a way to bring children back to school and reduce school dropout rates.
How can you donate? The campaign is featured on ShareTheMeal, an app by the UNWFP that raises funds for those in need around the world. Users can donate and share meals by tapping on the Dubai Holding home card within the app, or by visiting the campaign’s website, www.sharethemeal.org.
You can choose how much you want to donate, from Dh3 for one meal to Dh90 for 30 meals and Dh1,095 for a full year’s worth of meals. You can also choose where you want this donation to go, whether to Yemen or Palestine or even the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ramadan Heroes
What is it? Last year, Dubai Culture launched a campaign that honoured labourers in the city, and this year it’s expanding the programme to include support for needy families across the emirate in co-operation with food delivery company Talabat, as well as charities Emirates Red Crescent and the UAE Food Bank.
Through the Ramadan Heroes initiative, you can buy iftar meals or provide boxes of food supplies, which will be delivered to the homes of beneficiaries across Dubai.
How can you donate? Download the Talabat app and find the Ramadan Heroes option (you can simply search for Ramadan within the app).
There are two food box options, for Dh75 and Dh150. The boxes contain staple food supplies, such as rice, oil and canned foods, with enough to feed four to five people, or eight to 10 people, over three days. For Dh20, you can donate one iftar meal voucher.
Dar Al Ber Society
What is it? One of the UAE’s leading charities is serving up more than 8,000 free meals to people in need each day during Ramadan. The Dar Al Ber Society also pledged to provide clothing for 1,600 people through donations.
Other projects include giving food baskets to 1,000 people throughout the month, as well as raising Zakat Al Fitr for 7,000 beneficiaries in the UAE.
How can you donate? You can contribute to the initiative via the society’s website, www.daralber.ae, or through its smart app or customer service centres, which are spread across Dubai, Ajman and Ras Al
Khaimah. You may also come across representatives of the society in shopping centres and malls across the emirates, through whom you can make a donation.
Eat a Plate 2 Fill a Plate
What is it? This programme has been set up by the ride-hailing company Careem, which allows customers to directly donate a meal to someone in need through its new Eat a Plate 2 Fill a Plate widget under the Food section on its app.
With every meal you buy, a partner restaurant will donate a meal to a child via the UNWFP’s ShareTheMeal initiative.
How can you donate? Open the Careem app, locate the Food section and then click on the category named “Eat a Plate 2 Fill a Plate”. There, you’ll find a list of
participating restaurants, which have either chosen dedicated meals for the campaign or left their entire menu open (you can easily locate which dishes are available at the top of each menu).
These include Papa Murphy’s Pizza, which, at the time of writing, is offering 30 per cent off dishes and has two savoury pizzas, one dessert pizza and a cinnamon wheel among its options for this campaign.
Other restaurants include Projeto Acai, Poke & Co, Man’oushe Street, Nando’s and Hummingbird Bakery, to name a few.
Fujairah Charity Association
What is it? This charitable association in the northern emirate of the UAE has launched an iftar meals project that will make food deliveries to 85 distribution
points in Fujairah and Dibba. The number of fasting people expected to benefit is projected at 16,666 per day, with the charity aiming to provide a total of half a million meals throughout the holy month, if not more.
How can you donate? Log on to the iftar meals project page on the charity’s website, www. fujcharity.ae/en, and choose a distribution location from the interactive map. It shows all locations, and users can access expected cost of the meals, choose how many they want to donate and make payments using a smartphone.
Sharjah Charity International
What is it? As part of Sharjah Charity International’s ambitious Joud campaign for Ramadan, one million iftar meals will be distributed within and outside the country at a cost of Dh15 million, plus food baskets will be delivered to 25,000 beneficiaries at a cost of Dh3.2m, according to the organisation.
This will take place from 93 sites across Sharjah, as well as from select locations outside the UAE, and will target areas inside the emirate with a higher population of low-income people and less fortunate families.
A basket for a big family costs Dh800 and for a small family it’s Dh500. One iftar meal costs Dh15. You may also choose to donate Zakat Al Fitr for Dh20.
How can you donate? Donations can be made through the digital channels on the organisation’s website, www.shjc. sharjah.ae, as well as by text message and through bank transfer. More information is available on the toll-free number 80014.