Charity seeks space in capital

An organisation is selling donations to fund meals for the needy, but needs premises to accommodate items given to them.

ABU DHABI // The founder of an Ajman charity devoted to supporting labourers and low-income families is seeking free warehouse space in the capital to store a growing array of donations. Faisal Khan, who set up takemyjunkuae.com in 2008, has received numerous calls from people in Abu Dhabi keen to support his cause with unwanted clothing and household goods.

However, with no warehouse in the capital and with the cost of a lorry rental limiting him to one collection a week from the emirate, the charity is missing out on valuable donations. "I have people calling me all the time," Mr Khan said. "We want to create some sort of system in Abu Dhabi. I had a driver who was collecting things from Abu Dhabi for me but it cost me Dh800, so now we only do this once a week because we just don't have the money."

The charity either sells the donations to fund meals for needy labourers in Ajman or donates the better items to those who need them but cannot afford them. It also works with several schools in Dubai, encouraging children to participate in collections and distributions in Ajman. Students gave out rice, linen and clothing on Tuesday to 150 labourers who had not been paid for three months. The organisation has grown in the last six months as people have left the country or moved from villas to apartments. Still, Mr Khan is ever aware that if his organisation is not able to collect items, people on countdown to a move will discard them.

"People don't have time to sell items sometimes or pay for collection," he said. "Awareness of what we do is really important." The Al Ihsan Charity Centre, founded in 1998 through a decree by Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid, the Ruler of Ajman, also collects unwanted items for needy members of society, particularly families who have lost their main provider. @Email:[e-mail]