Charity sets out Dh57.5m Ramadan mission

An Ajman charity will spend Dh57.5 million helping the underprivileged across the country during Ramadan.

Human Appeal International said the money would be used to help thousands of low-income families in the UAE and abroad.

Details of the campaign were revealed on Thursday – less than a month before the holy month is expected to begin.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, chairman of the appeal’s board of trustees, said donations rose in the first four months of this year compared with the same period last year and the total this year is expected to reach Dh232m.

“We are aspiring to make charitable work and doing good, a lifestyle for UAE nationals and residents,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“This is not new to the UAE, our Founding Father considered making others happy a national treasure. That’s why we are committed to charity work.”

Dh20m of the campaign money will be distributed for zakat, Dh5m will help care for orphaned children and Dh25m will be used for medical, educational, and social development projects.

An additional Dh4m will provide more than 120,000 underprivileged individuals with meals to break their fast during the holy month.

“Dh1m will be used to provide Eid clothing, Dh2m to cover zakat al fitr and Dh500,000 will be used to donate food,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

Since its inception in 1984, the charity has helped to care for more than 120,000 orphaned children, 62,000 of them from the UAE.

“Last year, about 9,000 families received aid from the appeal and in the past three months alone we provided financial help to more than 5,000 needy families in the UAE, to pay for electricity and other sorts of bills,” said Khaled Al Khaja, the appeal’s executive director.

Last year, Dh18.1m was distributed among thousands of people to kick-start businesses to care for families and Dh7.9m was spent on providing more than 300,000 families with food.

Mr Al Khaja recalled printing leaflets in Urdu while promoting a campaign to aid Palestinians living in Gaza. “I remember that a Hindu man came personally to our offices and on the spot donated Dh20,000.

“Others will do the same, we just need to get the message to them.”

Since its inception in 1984, Human Appeal has helped to improve the lives of 120,000 youngsters