Etihad Guest launches Ramadhan campaign with Emirates Red Crescent

To celebrate the Year of Giving, Etihad Guest has launched a Ramadhan campaign with Emirates Red Crescent to provide meals to families in need in Somalia. The partnership is part of Etihad Airways’ contribution to the UAE’s Year of Giving programme.

Members of Etihad Airways’ loyalty programme can donate their miles to the emergency response in the African country, with 750 Etihad Guest Miles providing one meal. The aim of the campaign is to achieve 15 million miles' worth of donations, equivalent to 20,000 meals.

Yasser Al Yousuf, MD, Etihad Guest, said: “We are asking our members to make an easy but crucial statement this month by letting their miles make a difference to thousands of children and families in need in Somalia.

“The message is simple: the more donations we receive, the more people Emirates Red Crescent is able to feed. We have an ambitious goal of providing 20,000 meals and we hope that Etihad Guest members will join with us in supporting this important cause.”

Commending Etihad Airways’ humanitarian and development initiatives, HE Mohammed Yousef Al Fahim, Deputy Secretary-General for Support Services at Emirates Red Crescent, said: “The airline has been fulfilling its corporate social responsibility as it continues to play a vital role in supporting our national economy. The Emirates Red Crescent is proud of the partnership with Etihad Airways, which is a step forward to strengthening joint efforts to provide more care to people supported by Emirates Red Crescent in the UAE and abroad. We are confident that Etihad Guest initiative will take this partnership to new heights.”

Earlier in the year, Etihad Airways announced that it will donate AED1 from every flight ticket sold in the UAE during 2017 to Emirates Red Crescent’s local and international humanitarian projects.

The UAE national airline also painted one of its flagship Airbus A380 aircraft with the Year of Giving emblem to promote the campaign in its destinations around the world.

Interested?

Etihad Guest members can donate any amount they wish. Three thousand Etihad Guest Miles will feed a family of four and 37,500 Etihad Guest Miles will feed a community of 50. Donate

posted from Bloggeroid

INCEIF signs MoU with IFR on Islamic social finance

The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to leverage Islamic social finance opportunities and develop strategies and fundraising tools in support of Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian aid programmes.

The MoU was signed at INCEIF’s Kuala Lumpur campus by INCEIF President and CEO Daud Vicary Abdullah, and IFRC’s Under Secretary General for Partnerships, Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood.

The partnership aims to explore and expand ways through which Islamic social finance can be used as a tool to raise operational finances for national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to respond to disasters and other crises, reduce vulnerabilities, support healthy and safe living and foster a culture of peace in at-risk communities.

As part of the agreement, INCEIF will undertake research in innovative financial instruments that could assist Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian and development initiatives, including the design and development of sukuk social impact bonds, waqf and zakat endowment funds and other mechanisms that make use of obligatory and voluntary faith-based donations. Pilot projects will launch soon in selected countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including Malaysia.

INCEIF will also provide guidance on ways to tap Islamic social finance, connect its alumni network in 80 countries with national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and advocate for the direct funding of programmes that alleviate suffering, build resilience and promote human dignity. In addition, the MoU includes the development of an IFRC internship programme for INCEIF students.

Dr Jemilah says Islamic social financing has the potential to help address significant financial challenges in meeting the needs of millions of people caught in crises and poverty.

“We are keen to explore innovative ways the Islamic finance sector can work with Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and demonstrate solidarity and principled action to save lives and promote dignity,” Dr Jemilah stated. “We will be eager to see Islamic social finance contribute to strengthening communities and realising the IFRC`s commitment of leaving no one behind.”

“At INCEIF, we realise that it is a winning strategy to promote the development of Islamic finance by establishing effective collaborative partnerships around the globe,” said Daud. “INCEIF is proud to add IFRC to our list of partners, which includes the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Financial Services Board. It is an honour for INCEIF to share our expertise and knowledge in Islamic finance to better society through the duty of care, which is the true spirit of Islam.”

Kuwait Red Crescent Society distributes meat to Syrian refugees in Lebanon for Eid

The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) has distributed meat to Syrian refugees in Lebanon over two days. Seven hundred Syrian refugee families in northern Lebanon and Zahle city in east Lebanon received Eid meat on 24 September, while 550 families in south and east Lebanon received meat for Eid Al-Adha on the 25th, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) has reported. 

The KRCS has been doing this for three years, said KRCS Representative Mohammad Al-Muteiri to KUNA. Eid meat recipients on 25 September included 250 families in Sidon in south Lebanon and 300 families in Beqaa in east Lebanon.

Kuwait's humanitarian initiatives and projects serving Syrian refugees in Lebanon involve bread, Ramadhan meals and Eid Al-Adha meat as well as clothing.

ERC provides infrastructure in Palestine

The Emirates News Agency (WAM) has reported that the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) organisation recently completed three development projects worth more than AED3.8 million in Palestine.

The projects include the construction of a two-storey and two-minaret mosque in Deir Qaddis west of Ramallah, to serve 1,200 worshippers; an additional storey for the girls' school in Deir Istiya town in the Salfit Governorate, to accommodate an additional 500 students; and 100 water wells to serve 100 farming families in villages in Hebron Governorate, southern West Bank.

KSA, UAE send help to Yemen

Humanitarian relief has been arriving in Yemen. The third installment of medical relief by King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action arrived in Saioon city on board three trucks coming from KSA through the Alwadaia'ah land border crossing point, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.

Another report from Emirates news agency WAM shared that the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) handed out Eid al-Fitr gifts to 5,000 displaced children in the southeastern Yemeni province of Hadramaut. ERC teams delivered electronic toys, sweets and painting tools to makeshift shelters in the province.

The Emirati humanitarian agency has on-going operations in Yemen to provide basic educational, health and social services for children.

Emirates Red Crescent engages with orphans over Ramadhan

The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) recently organised a number of activities for orphans nationwide, reported the Emirates news agency WAM.

The ERC collaborated with Ferrari World Abu Dhabi for the second year in a row, and organised the Ramadhan iftar for 500 orphaned children aged between 7 and 17.

Rashid Mubarak Al Mansouri, ERC Deputy Secretary-General of Local Affairs, said that the ERC provides educational and social programmes as well as recreational activities to help raise orphans with appropriate religious and social values.