The Palestine Humanitarian Fund 2021 (TKP) has collected a total of BND1,245,100.15, Permanent Secretary (Community & Culture) at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Hajah Nor Ashikin binti Haji Johari said during a signing ceremony yesterday.
The ceremony was held for the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Ghanim International Corporation and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to ensure the proper handover of food packs assistance by Ghanim to the UNRWA.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin, as Co-Advisor of the TKP 2021, witnessed the signing ceremony, conducted online, between Ghanim Chief Executive Officer Dr Nur Rahman and UNRWA Director of Partnership Karim Amer.
Ghanim International Corporation will coordinate the production and delivery of more than 115,000 food packs utilizing part of the Palestine Humanitarian Fund 2021 donated by the people and residents of Brunei Darussalam. UNRWA is an aid agency with a mission to support Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria providing aid protection to about 5.7 million registered Palestinian refugees.
Hajah Nor Ashikin said the public’s contribution through the TKP2021 showed the concern, determination and solidarity of the people in the Sultanate to help alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinians. She emphasised that the provision of food aid and ambulances as planned will be implemented in the best possible way, as entrusted by the people and residents of Brunei.
The total amount of contributions were collected from May 26, 2021 to August 23, 2021. Several charitable activities including the SMS Brunei Prihatin campaign and contribution from parties such as government agencies, private companies, foerign missions, associations, organisations and individuals made the initiative possible.
During the period of the campaign, 223 donation boxes were also provided throughout the Sultanate to facilitate public donations placed in mosques, suraus, religious halls, banks as well as private and public buildings. A total of 25 agencies and organisations also organised activities to collect donations for the TKP.
Based on the assessment of urgent needs required by the people of Palestine, the funds will be channelled into two basic types of assistance – food packs, particularly for the Gaza Strip, and medical supplies, particularly ambulances, for the use of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
With Ghanim appointed as the sole coordinator for food packs assistance, it was also shared that the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society has been appointed as the coordinator for the procurement and distribution of ambulances, with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) societies and the PCRS. A total of six ambulances will be donated – three allocated for the Gaza Strip and another three for the West Bank