WePlay Berqurban Eid al-Adha charity activity launched in Jakarta

Social gaming platform WePlay has launched the WePlay Berqurban Eid al-Adha charity activity in Jakarta, Indonesia. Through donations and distribution ceremonies, WePlay aims to convey care and blessings to local families in need.

On June 7, WePlay representatives formally handed over a cow and two goats—healthy livestock compliant with Islamic law requirements—to the management of Musholla Baitul Rahman Mosque in Cengkareng, West Jakarta. These animals became sacred gifts for festive sharing.

"We deeply understand the sacred significance of Eid al-Adha for our Muslim brothers and sisters. WePlay Berqurban is not merely a material donation; it represents WePlay's commitment to community care and cultural respect," a WePlay representative said.

"Choosing Musholla Baitul Rahman as the venue ensures our contribution directly benefits local neighbours. We hope this shared faith-based goodwill brings a blessed and joyous celebration to recipient families."

The Head of the Musholla Baitul Rahman Mosque said: "We are immensely grateful to WePlay for their incredibly generous donation to our community during the sacred Eid al-Adha. This sacrificial provision is not just a precious gift, but also a vivid embodiment of the Islamic spirit of sharing and caring for the vulnerable.

Source: WePlay.On June 7, WePlay representatives formally handed over a cow and two goats to Musholla Baitul Rahman Mosque in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

"WePlay's kind-heartedness and action have genuinely warmed our community and demonstrated the company's profound understanding and respect for local culture and religious values."

A traditional route to charity with Qalby Etmaan

The Qalby Etmaan programme has launched clay donation boxes for its eighth season in line with the national Year of Community. 

The boxes are made by Emirati potters and artisans locally, and packaged in environmentally-friendly burlap and recycled paper. Packed by humanitarian institutions and volunteers, such as the UAE Red Crescent, Zayed Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works, and Khalifa Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works, each box will be delivered at no cost.

This initiative aims instil the concept of goodness is within everyone's reach, simplifying charitable acts and emphasizing the importance of everyone's contribution to the community, while highlighting the profound impact their donations can have. The donation boxes also seek to revive tradition in the age of digitisation, especially with the decline in the use of cash.

Funds collected will be used to plant 100,000 date palms, with date sales directly supporting orphaned children in Gaza over the long-term.

Source: Qalby Etmaan. A clay donation box.

The boxes will be broken open on March 25, coinciding with the 25th day of Ramadhan, and the clay will be mixed with soil and used to improve soil quality and fertility.

Over 5,000 Clay donation boxes will be distributed, with 10 boxes containing free tickets for winners to attend the filming of the next season of the Qalby Etmaan program.

Details

The clay donation boxes will be available at multiple distribution points, including the Qalby Etmaan online store, Hamad Store, ADNOC fuel stations, and UAE Red Crescent kiosks in shopping malls.

To contribute to Qalby Etmaan projects and initiatives, visit https://www.emiratesrc.ae/Ghaith/Home.aspx

The Qalby Etmaan programme is available on YouTube, Abu Dhabi TV, and the Abu Dhabi TV app at:
7 pm UAE time | 6 pm KSA time

Community crowdfunding initiative to support Singapore mosques

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has launched a centralised donation portal in support of the mosques named OurMasjid.SG and called upon the community to continue to support Singapore mosques and asatizah during the challenging months ahead.

The mosques were closed temporarily on 13 March 2020, and meant to reopen the same month. As the risk to the community remains high, the Fatwa Committee in Singapore recommended on 24 March to continue the closure of mosques and suspend Friday prayers until further notice. In making this recommendation, the committee is guided by two principles that apply in a situation like COVID-19, i.e. to avoid all forms of harm and to close all doors that lead to danger and harm.

The mosque closure has prevented the community from donating directly to mosques through donation boxes, which the mosques rely on for operations and manpower funding. All mosque operational costs, such as manpower and utility bills still depend largely on donations from congregants. Significant amounts are typically collected during Friday congregational prayers.

In response, Muis has partnered MuslimSG to launch OurMasjid.SG - a community crowdfunding initiative for mosques. With this new platform, it is now easier for the community to make online donations to mosques.

Singapore mosque overheads include salaries as well as utilities costs. They employ more than 2,000 staff which includes Mosque Religious Officers (MRO), Social Development Officers (SDO), aLIVE teachers, imam, bilal, admin officers as well as maintenance & support officers (noja). These frontliners face thousands of congregants weekly, and play important roles in keeping religious life alive at the mosques.

In addition, while there have been efforts by the mosques to promote water and energy conservation, mosques continue to be in need for support from the public to defray such costs to ensure the cleanliness and safe operations of mosques. Water and utilities alone account for almost 4% of mosque annual expenditure.

Separately, KuliahSG will centralise online religious content provided by the mosques. Starting out as a ground-up initiative by two individuals, KuliahSG is a centralised portal for online programmes produced by mosques. Muis and mosques are fully supportive of this initiative and will work together with KuliahSG in the spirit of helping the community gain access to Islamic online content which asatizah and mosques in Singapore are producing daily, Muis said.

Despite the physical closure of the mosques, mosque asatizah and staff have been working hard to continue to serve the spiritual needs of congregants by bringing mosque programmes and religious content online. For example, over 50 mosques now have put up online content, comprising over 1,130 videos. Mosques are also continuing with Islamic education for the young, by conducting aLIVE lessons through home-based learning.

Muis announced on 7 April 2020 that S$1 million had been set aside to support mosques during their temporary closure due to COVID-19. The organisation is working with partners under the SGTeguhBersatu Task Force to provide a comprehensive assistance package for asatizah, the mosque sector, as well as the tenants of wakaf properties.

With the temporary closure of the mosques, Muis noted that many asatizah have lost both their primary platform to reach the community as well as a source of income. Muis will assist asatizah in applying for assistance under the Resilience Package, including the Self-Employed Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) and the Temporary Relief Fund (TRF). 

For SIRS, Muis will work with NTUC, and will accept applications from self-employed ARS-certified asatizah who are eligible for this scheme. Muis will outreach to asatizah to raise awareness of the scheme, and guide asatizah through the application process.

Asatizah who are eligible to receive the support under the scheme will receive three payouts of S$3,000, starting from May.

Muis will also work with MSF to assist and support asatizah to apply for the Temporary Relief Fund via the designated online portal. Asatizah who experienced a drop in income due to COVID-19 will receive a one-off payment of S$500. In addition, asatizah who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 can also apply for the COVID-19 Assistance Grant and receive S$800 a month, for three months.

Asatizah who wish to apply for these schemes can call +65 6350 5374 or 6350 1440 for assistance.

Muis has also helped mosques to move more lessons and classes online. This includes programmes conducted by its religious officers, home-based learning for aLIVE madrasahs* and other Islamic learning classes. Muis will also share a toolkit with IECPs** and home-based Quranic teachers to encourage more to continue their classes via online platforms. This will ensure they continue to draw income during this period.

To support and prepare asatizah for beyond the crisis, Muis will partner MENDAKI Sense to support the upskilling of asatizah. To complement the Self-Employed Person (SEP) Training Support Scheme, Muis will encourage asatizah to upskill especially in areas like digital marketing, technology-enabled learning delivery and counselling. This will be tied to the launch of the Career Map and Competency Framework (CCF), one of the recommendations from COFA***, later this month, which will create more opportunities and enhance the career pathways for asatizah.

Given that the closure of mosques will affect them financially, Muis earlier said that it will provide grants to support mosques to adopt enhanced precautions to deal with COVID-19 when they reopen. This includes temperature taking, contract tracing, and manpower and systems for queue management.

In addition, as the aLIVE class is partially affected by the closure of the mosque and will be replaced with home learning, Muis will give a grant to mosques to waive the aLIVE fee by 50% for two months. Parents in the aLIVE programme will be informed by their respective mosques on the details of this fee waiver.

Muis is committed to supporting businesses and organisations which are renting wakaf properties. In this regard, Muis will pass on all the property tax rebates provided by the government from the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets. In addition, Muis will provide additional rental waivers to commercial tenants as well as community tenants.

Wakaf properties are those dedicated by a Muslim for a purpose recognised by Muslim law as pious, religious; or charitable. Community tenants refer to non-profit organisations and SMEs offering socio-religious services.

All commercial and community tenants will receive a baseline rental waiver of 1.5 months as part of passing on property tax rebates to tenants. Commercial tenants will receive an additional 0.5 month rental waiver on top of the associated tax rebates while community tenants will receive an additional two months' rental waiver. In total, commercial tenants of wakaf properties will receive a two-month rental waiver while community tenants of wakaf properties will receive a four-month rental waiver.

Muis has also said that zakat financial assistance will remain available at the 31 Social Development Mosques.

Details:

Members of the community can make their contributions online at https://ourmasjid.sg (English) or https://ourmasjid.sg/ms/ourmasjid-home-ml/ (Malay) via credit and debit cards, eNETs, PayNow and GIRO. Recurring payments can also be made through credit/debit card or GIRO to help support the mosques in the long term.

*ALIVE (Learning Islamic Values Everyday) are religious programmes for children across various age groups (kids, tween, teens, youth). The programmes are conducted at mosques across Singapore.

** Islamic education centres and providers (IECP) provide religious instructions (e.g. lectures, classes) at various location. IECPs are required to employ teachers who are registered under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) and to ensure that the curriculum, learning materials and teachers employed comply with the ARS Code of Ethics. 

***The Committee of Future Asatizah (COFA) was formed in March 2019 to spearhead engagement on the Vision for Asatizah of the Future. The committee recently published a report outlining three key thrusts and 10 recommendations, based on the Vision of Future Asatizah.

Ibadah.sg begins Ramadhan charity campaign for 2018

Source: Ibadah.sg Facebook page. Picture of a woman with children illustrating Ibadah.sg's Ihsan Ramadhan 2018 campaign.

Ibadah.sg is calling for donations for Ramadhan for the needy, "Ramadhan is especially the time to think about others who are less fortunate than us, who may be without shelter, food, clean water etc all year round," the charity stated online. "To be able to give is indeed a blessed opportunity." 

The month of Ramadhan will begin in mid-May this year.

Details:

Ibadah.sg has programmes running for different countries:

Bangladesh

Offer assistance to Rohingya refugees in makeshift camps via the following: 

- Aqiqah (عقيقة‎) - an animal sacrifice to commemorate a birth/alms* of one cow, S$750 

- Providing iftar and suhoor - the sunset meal and pre-dawn meal, capping the end and beginning of the daily fasting period - for one family during Ramadhan, S$100 

- Offering medical treatment and women's essentials, S$50/pack 

- Providing groceries and fresh milk, S$50/pack 

- Infaq (إنفاق)/fidyah (الفدية‎), donations made without the expectation of rewards, and donations made in lieu of fasting for Ramadhan respectively, rice, S$60/25kg  

- General contributions, S$50 

Cambodia

- Waqaf (وقف‎) - a donation of land and similar assets for religious purposes without intention of reclaiming the asset - for the needy, a house, S$2,999 

- Waqaf for a well, S$399 

- General contributions, S$50 

Indonesia 

- Aqiqah/alms* of a goat, S$210

- Providing iftar and suhoor for one family during Ramadhan, S$100 

- Hari Raya (Eid) preparation contributions per family, S$100 

- Infaq/fidyah rice, S$60/25kg  

- Waqaf, seven copies of the Quran, S$100 

- Waqaf, seven prayer mats, S$100 

- Waqaf contributing towards the building of a mosque or religious school, SS$150 

- General contributions, S$50 

Sabah, Malaysia

- Providing iftar and suhoor for one family during Ramadhan, S$100  

- Hari Raya (Eid) preparation contributions per family, S$100 

- Waqaf, seven copies of the Quran, S$100 

- Waqaf, seven telekung (prayer clothes for ladies) sets and seven prayer mats, S$150 

- General contributions, S$50 

Contact Ustaz Syamil Masruhen at +65 8322 0460 or Haji Noh at +65 8399 7390 on how to donate.

Explore:

Watch a video about the Rohingya refugees (Malay with English subtitles)

Hashtag: #Ibadahsg

*Ibadah.sg is also providing nazar (‏نظر‎), protective amulets with eye beads that are said to ward off the evil eye as part of this donation. Muslims are divided on support for this practice.

Disclaimer: Suroor Asia shares calls for donations on the assumption that they are genuine. It cannot be held responsible for negative outcomes as a result of performing a donation. Donors should do their due diligence on whether the prices are reasonable and if the charity will execute on its promises. It is also possible that stated prices include other costs, administration and travel costs for example. Online donation mechanisms may also contain malware or lead to data theft.

Donate at the Sultan Mosque, Singapore

Source: Sultan Mosque. Poster calling for donations.

The Sultan Mosque is collecting donations for infaq* (إنفاق) and iftar for Ramadhan.

Interested?

Contact Sultan Mosque with questions or to donate

*Infaq refers to giving charity without any expectation of reward.

Angullia Mosque sites donation box at Mustafa

Source: Angullia Mosque. The donation box is on the left. Entrances 3 and 4 face each other. During times of high foot traffic, such as weekends, entrance 3 is a designated exit while entrance 4 remains an entry point for Mustafa.

Singapore's Angullia Mosque, with permission from Mustafa Center, has placed a donation box for mosque redevelopment in front of entrance number 3, along Verdun Road for the convenience of shoppers who wish to donate. The 24-hour Mustafa is an extremely popular department store and high traffic is expected at all entrances.

Angullia Mosque is at 265 Serangoon Road and a prominent landmark in Little India, while Mustafa is also a highlight of the neighbourhood.

FFFA calls for donations to fund Ramadhan outreach

Source: FFFA Facebook page. Poster for the Ramadhan outreach.

The Com-Passion initiative is part of Free Food for All's (FFFA's) continual efforts to reach out to the less fortunate, and offer them some respite from their daily financial burden. Using food, the organisation opens doors and breaks down barriers, encouraging community interaction and mutual understanding of other faiths and cultures. 

During Ramadhan FFFA aims to distribute up to 500 meals daily from Monday to Friday. While the food will be given primarily to Muslims to break their fast during the fasting month, FFFA will also reach out to the less fortunate from other races and religions so that they can experience the spirit of compassion, one of the main themes of Ramadhan.
 

Interested?

Donate online or call 

+65 1900 112 3910 - S$10 donation
+65 1900 112 3950 - S$50 donation

Singapore Muslims donate S$342,569 to Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon

The Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF) has reported that the Singapore Muslim community is contributing S$342,569 in aid of Syrian refugees living in the refugee camps and dwellings located in Jordan and Lebanon.

The Syrian internal conflict and war, which has gone on for nearly six years, has inflicted a heavy toll. More than 4 million Syrians have sought refuge in countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq as well as other countries beyond. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), more than half are children below 17 years of age.

Jordan alone is hosting about 650,000 refugees while Lebanon is hosting more than 1 million. The high concentration of refugees in the countries have strained the resources of the nations which have to meet the demands of their own populations as well.

With severe winter conditions enveloping the region, mosques in Singapore in collaboration with the RLAF appealed for donations from the Singapore Muslim community to show our care and compassion toward the ongoing suffering of the Syrian refugees there. Donation boxes were placed at all 70 mosques from 3 to 9 February 2017. Donations were also invited via cash, cheque and online to this cause.

For this initiative, RLAF is collaborating with the UNHCR that is on the ground in Jordan and Lebanon. The equivalent of US$100,000 of the collection will enable the UNHCR to extend the provision of gas to Syrian refugees in Al-Azraq camp in Jordan to enable them to survive the winter.

The remaining funds, amounting to US$132,600, will be used to support UNHCR’s Outreach Educational programme, as well as parent engagement and homework support programmes to ensure access of education for Syrian children in across Lebanon. Through this assistance parents will also be empowered to assist in the learning process. Through these programmes is it hoped that children will be able to discover the joy of learning and find new confidence after the ordeal they face as refugees.

The RLAF and mosques in Singapore wish to express sincere thanks to the Singapore Muslim community and all Singaporeans who have generously contributed to the fund.

posted from Bloggeroid

RLAF to conduct collection at Singapore mosques for Indonesia and Myanmar

The Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF) will conduct a special collection in aid of communities affected by a severe earthquake in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia and of the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

Donation boxes will be placed at all 70 mosques in Singapore from 12 to 19 December 2016. All boxes will be marked Humanitarian Relief Effort for Aceh and Rakhine State. Donations are also accepted by cash or cheque.

All donations will be divided in equal portions to be given for humanitarian assistance to both affected communities. 

Interested?

Cheques should be made payable to RLAF with the words Humanitarian Relief Effort for Aceh and Rakhine State written on the back. Cash and cheques should be delivered to the Muis Building at Singapore Islamic Hub, 273 Braddell Road, Singapore 579702.

Members of the community can also offer their donations in cash or by cheque to Muis or make their contributions online up to 19 December 2016.

Blood donations, organ donor pledges up during Ramadhan in Qatar

More than 3,000 people registered to donate blood during this year’s Ramadhan campaign held by Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Blood Donor Center, while a record number of organ donor pledges were received over the same period.

This year’s blood donation campaign took place through the month of Ramadhan and into the Eid al Fitr holidays. A total of 2,264 people donated blood throughout the campaign while 3,054 new registrations were received.

The campaign was part of the Blood Donor Centre’s efforts at fostering a culture of voluntary blood donation throughout the community. “During the campaign, we organised a series of blood donation events in shopping malls and other prominent locations around the country. We also took our campaign to national organizations as well as social and cultural centers with a large number of visitors taking part,” said Sediqeh al-Mahmoudi, Medical Manager of HMC’s Blood Donor Center.

“We would like to thank those members of the public who registered as blood donors as well as community groups and companies who supported our efforts. We would also like to thank HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation who has supported our campaign for four years.”

Source: Hamad Medical Corporation. The Qatar Organ Donation Center.

More than 44,000 new organ donors signed up to Qatar’s pioneering Organ Donor Registry during Ramadhan, more than double last year’s total for the same period. This brings the total number of people on the Organ Donor Register, which is unique in the region, to more than 148,000 registrations. Qatar is one of the few countries in the region offering integrated organ transplant services, on the basis of a single, unified national waiting list.

During Ramadhan more than 450 HMC staff worked to educate the community about organ donation at booths across 14 shopping centres. They also shared information about the importance of the programme and provided new donors with their donor card on the spot.

“The aim of the campaign was to inform people about organ donation, answer their questions and let them know that living donation* is safe,” said Dr Riadh Fadhil, Director of Qatar Organ Donation Center. “The educators were also able to speak to the community about deceased donations* and the importance of informing your family about your wishes.

“We are proud of the Doha model of organ donation and the successful strategies that were designed to address our challenges in Qatar. This model has now become internationally recognised as both safe and ethical,” Dr Fadhil said.

“We encourage all residents in Qatar to register as an organ donor and if they have a patient related to them, to look for a living organ donor within the family. Organ donation is a societal responsibility that needs collaboration to achieve self-sufficiency and to treat all our patients.”

Interested?

The HMC Blood Donor Center is located on the grounds of Hamad General Hospital near the multi-storey carpark. Visit the centre between 7am and 9:30pm daily to register as a blood donor or to give blood. Call +974 4439 1081 for more information.

Register as an organ donor

*Deceased donors are those who have pledged during their life to give organs to someone in need. They include cases in which the family agrees on organ donation after the person’s death. Living donors donate a kidney or part of the liver while they are alive.

Qatar's RAF opens orphanage in Indonesia

Source: RAF. Hajj pilgrims finance 3,000 sq m orphanage complex.

The Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) has opened an orphanage at a cost of QR1.2 million in Saraghin Governorate, Indonesia. Some 36 orphan children are enrolled at the facility.

Al Bayan House for Orphan Care was financed by Hajj pilgrims' donations, and was completed within a year. The orphanage has been named after the Al Bayan Haj and Omra Tour Operator who organised the trip.

The 3,000 sq m facility  comprises three classrooms, three living rooms, a mosque, a health clinic, a library with a study hall, a computer room, a guesthouse, a kitchen and a surface water well. Commercial shops have also been built so that rents can be used to cover operation costs of the orphanage. A bus has also been provided to ferry students.

“We support RAF’s development projects in our country,” said Qusdinar Sukawati, Governor of Saraghin.

“RAF has implemented several social, educational, development, humanitarian projects to support orphans throughout the country,” said Ali Sadi, Head, Al Sela Organisation, a partner of RAF in Indonesia. “Orphan care is an important social work and the initiative will help grow and educate orphan children. It is not new project for RAF. It opened an orphanage with the capacity of hundreds of children in Sumatra last year and built another with the capacity of 360 orphans in Java.”

Surf Excel Pakistan requests clothes to be donated this Ramadhan

Source: Surf Excel Pakistan website.

Surf Excel Pakistan, the company behind the viral Ramadhan 2016 video, has created Shelter of Kindness, which is aimed at collecting clothes and sharing with those less privileged. Each item of clothing will be washed and freshened by Surf Excel before sharing it forward.

Interested?

Source: Surf Excel Pakistan website.

Watch the Ramadhan 2016 advertisement (4.8 million views on Facebook, 1.6 million views on YouTube and counting)

View the list of Shelters of Kindness, which may be found in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Multan.

Hashtags: ‪#‎madadekibadat‬, ‪#‎Dirtisgood‬, ‪#‎Daaghachhehain‬

Singapore mosques open collection for earthquake victims

The Blessings-To-All Mosque Committee, representing all mosques in Singapore and in supporting the aim of the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF), is organising a fund raiser in aid of victims of the earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador.

Two earthquakes of magnitudes 6.5 and 7.3 hit the Kumamoto Prefecture of Japan on 14 April and 16 April 2016 while a 7.8-magnitude quake struck Ecuador on 17 April 2016. The earthquakes have contributed to widespread damage of infrastructure, as well as loss of lives and properties. Hundreds of thousands have been made homeless as a result.

Mosques in Singapore will extend support to those devastated by the earthquakes with RLAF donation boxes at all 69 mosques up to 6 May 2016. All boxes will be marked Humanitarian Relief Effort for Victims of Earthquakes in Ecuador and Japan.

Members of the public can also offer their donation in cash or by cheque. All cheques should be made payable to “RLAF" with the words “Humanitarian Relief Effort for Victims of Earthquakes in Ecuador and Japan” written on the back. Cash and cheques can be delivered to the Muis Building at the Singapore Islamic Hub, No 273, Braddell Road Singapore 579702.

Online donations can also be made at the Muis website. Online collection is extended to 15 May 2016.

All proceeds from the collection will be handed over to Mercy Relief and Singapore Red Cross Society who are supporting emergency relief operations in both countries.

posted from Bloggeroid

Masjid Kampung Siglap has a Ramadhan donation drive on

Masjid Kampung Siglap in Singapore is running a donation drive to cover the cost of expenses for iftar and suhoor over the month of Ramadhan.

According to a statement on the mosque website, donations for the Dana Ramadan 1437H/2016 drive will contribute towards serving more than 20,000 in breaking their fast at the mosque, porridge for takeaways and suhoor meals for the last 10 nights of Ramadhan.

Targets are at S$60,000. Under 9% of the amount has been collected so far. 

Interested?

Donate online. Donations can be as low as S$5 for a meal.

Singapore's RLAF opens up channels for donations to Myanmar flood victims

All 69 mosques in Singapore, in collaboration with Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF), are participating in a fund raising effort in aid of flood victims in Myanmar.

According to a statement by the RLAF, 12 out of 14 states and regions in Myanmar are suffering from the effects of severe flooding, with four regions designated as disaster zones. The cyclone-battered western state of Rakhine is the hardest hit. The RLAF notes that over 100 people have died and more than 1 million are deemed "critically affected" by the rising floods, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"Thi s is the worst natural disaster since Cyclone Nargis killed nearly 140 ,000 people in May 2008," noted the RLAF in a statement.

Funds collected will be handed over to Mercy Relief which is currently on the ground to provide relief and aid in the form of food, clean water, medicine and basic necessities and possibly the rebuilding of homes devastated by the floods.

Interested?

Donation boxes have been placed at all 69 mosques and will be open up to Friday, 21 August 2015. All boxes will be marked Special Collection for Victims of Myanmar Floods.

Members of the public can also offer donations in cash or by cheque. All cheques should be made payable to RLAF with Special Collection In Aid of Victims of Myanmar Floods written on the back. Cash and cheques can be delivered to the Muis Building at the Singapore Islamic Hub, No 273, Braddell Road Singapore 579702. In addition, the public can make their contributions online up to 31 August 2015.

OIC, IDB announce urgent financial aid for countries at risk of Ebola epidemics

Donors to the joint Conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have announced an urgent financial aid package to countries suffering from the threat of Ebola epidemics. In addition to the financial pledges, the assistance also includes material resources, equipment and supplies, as well as trained heath workers and an associated workforce.

The IDB announced two agreements of US$45 million signed with the Government of Guinea which consists of two aid packages, a of US$10 million to fight poverty, and US$34 million to support health programmes, including US$6 million to fight Ebola. HE Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of the IDB, and HE Ambassador Mohamed Shareef, Ambassador of Guinea to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, signed the two agreements on the sidelines of the conference.

The IDB also announced at the conference a grant of US$10 million as seed money for mobilisation of additional resources from NGOs and philanthropists to support efforts to fight Ebola virus disease (EVD). The Saudi Fund for Development on its part contributed US$30 million for Donka Hospital in Guinea.

In their welcoming remarks at the opening session of the Conference, the Secretary General of the OIC, Iyad Ameen Madani and the President of the IDB, Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, conveyed their sympathy with and support for the peoples and governments of the affected countries and recounted the efforts exerted by the OIC and the IDB since the start of the EVD outbreak earlier this year.

The organisations, institutions and individuals who attended the conference expressed their readiness to provide financial and technical assistance to advance the health systems and structures in the affected countries.

The conference reiterated the need for effective, coordinated and speedy response to the EVD epidemic. It also noted the necessity of community mobilisation, creating public awareness and educating people in dealing with situations resulting from this epidemic.

A large number of philanthropist organisations and individuals, NGOs and representatives of World Health Organization (WHO) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) attended the conference, which was chaired by the Deputy Health Minister of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HE Dr Mansour Nasser Alhowasi.

In addition to high-level delegations from the two EVD-affected states, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the Minister of health of Turkey and Uganda, the Deputy Minister of Health of Malaysia, advisors to the health ministers of Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire, and high-level delegations from OIC member states also participated in the conference. Representatives of the Office of the US President’s Special Envoy to the OIC and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) attended.

As a part of OIC’s efforts to mobilise support for Ebola-affected countries, a meeting of OIC member states was held in Geneva on 29 September 2014. The meeting was chaired by the honourable Minister of Health of Indonesia, and attended by the WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan. The Resource Mobilization Conference in Jeddah was held as a follow-up to the Geneva meeting.

The assistance package announced during the conference is in line with the priorities and objectives outlined in the WHO Ebola response roadmap, and takes into account the latest assessment of the situation provided during the meeting by representatives of the affected countries, WHO, MSF and other organisations and NGOs which have been actively involved on the ground in the fight against EVD.

CIMB Islamic Bank donates RM1 million to MERCY Malaysia for Gaza effort

CIMB Islamic Bank has donated RM1,000,000 to MERCY Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which has been providing relief in the Gaza Strip.

The donation will be used by MERCY Malaysia to provide immediate medical assistance as well as to assess other requirements, such as food and nutritional needs. The donation will also be channelled to fund MERCY Malaysia’s collaborative works with United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), an agency which provides services encompassing education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. 

Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Islamic Bank (second from left) handing over a mock cheque to Dato' Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus, President of MERCY Malaysia (third from left), to mark the bank's donation of RM1 million to Gaza relief efforts. Looking on are Ahmad Faezal Mohamed, Executive Director of MERCY Malaysia (left) and Hartini Zainudin, Country Representative for UNRWA in Malaysia (right).

Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Islamic Bank, handed over a mock cheque to Dato' Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus, President of MERCY Malaysia in a ceremony held at the bank’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Also present were Ahmad Faezal Mohamed, Executive Director of MERCY Malaysia and Hartini Zainudin, Country Representative for UNRWA in Malaysia.

“We hope that our contribution will aid towards bringing relief to those in need. More importantly, we pray for the end of the conflict and violence
as too many innocent lives have perished,” said Badlisyah.

“We are thankful for the unceasing work that these NGOs perform to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians and refugees. We hope that more corporates and Malaysians in general will support these NGOs by donating to their relief funds.” 

Al Ansari Exchange makes a donation to the Al Noor Training Center for Children with Special Needs

In line with its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE-based foreign exchange and worldwide money transfer company, has donated AED250,000 to Al Noor Training Center for Children with Special Needs, a Dubai-based non-profit organisation looking after special needs children between the ages of 3 and 18. 

Source: Al Ansari Exchange.

The donation will enable the centre to offer enhanced and improved facilities in providing multi-disciplinary programmes for the development of children with special needs.

Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange, said: “Children with special needs are an integral part of our society and should be given equal opportunities to nurture their talent and develop their abilities. We are confident that our little contribution to the Al Noor Training Center will help make a difference in the lives of children with special needs." 

"We offer training programmes for children so that they can become financially independent individuals," said Dr Mohammad Al Redha, Board Member, Al Noor Training Center for Children with Special Needs, who noted that the organisation depends on corporate donations.