UAE responds to charity appeal

Zaher Atif receives one of the boxes of aid from the Emirates Red Crescent in Aden, Yemen. Mohammed Al Qalisi for The National

ABU DHABI // An appeal to raise money to help rebuild war-torn Yemen has reached Dh64.6 million in five days.

While some of the money for the Yemen: We Care campaign came from large single donations, from companies and individuals, the majority has come in smaller donations from generous members of the public.

The financial contributions were made by SMS or through the purchase of coupons from Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) kiosks in shopping malls.

Fahad Abdulrahman bin Sultan, deputy secretary general at the ERC, said that a lot of goods had also been donated.

“We hope to achieve financial revenues that meet the needs of the Yemeni people and their many requirements,” said Mr bin Sultan.

“The finances from the campaign will be allocated to relief programmes and rehabilitation projects.”

The focus is on helping to rebuild the education and health sectors, as well as reconstructing water, electricity and sanitation networks, he said.

“The authority is accepting all kinds of donations and all are urged to give in any way they can,” Mr bin Sultan said.

While donations of all kinds were welcome, “we consider financial donations to be a priority as they directly help in the developmental phase of the country”, he said.

The ERC has made it a priority to provide relief whenever there is a crisis or catastrophe, Mr bin Sultan said.

So far, more than 15,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid have been sent to Yemen, including nine relief ships and land convoys through Saudi Arabia. This effort has benefited about 124,000 families, or about 620,000 individuals,” said Mr bin Sultan.

In the next phase, the ERC will focus on refurbishing 153 schools, which will provide places for 138,000 children.

The ERC’s efforts will also include the refurbishment of medical facilities – including five large hospitals and nine clinics – and 40 water wells in Aden, which serve 450,000 people, so that the population has clean drinking water.

“The authority is also studying the maintenance of sanitation facilities,” said Mr bin Sultan.

ERC officials have conducted a field survey in the province around Aden to find the areas that are most in need of assistance, with a focus on health, education, and basic services.

“The next phase will be the implementation process starting in Aden and moving to the nearby provinces that now are stable after the current events,” he said.

The ERC has a delegation of employees and volunteers based in Yemen, as well as using Yemenis to aid in executing the plans and supervising the processes “since they are more aware of the complications on the ground”, Mr bin Sultan said.

Next week, the ERC will also distribute donation coupons at UAE schools to give pupils the chance to participate in the charitable efforts.