UAE organisation aims to help support 20,000 orphans in Gaza
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza A UAE organisation has launched a programme aiming to help provide long-term support for 20,000 orphans in Gaza. The Big Heart Foundation is asking residents and companies to support a Palestinian orphan by donating from Dh625 per month up to Dh75,000 for 10 years of assistance through its 'For Gaza' scheme. Donors can commit to monthly, annual, five-year or 10-year payments under a structured sponsorship model. The details were revealed during a charity suhoor held at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park on Monday, in the presence of philanthropists, business leaders and representatives from the humanitarian sector. The programme is part of the Palestinian Taawon Welfare Association's Noor campaign, which aims to raise $377 million to provide access to education, health care, psychological support and other essential services for orphaned children in Gaza. 'Our approach is rooted in sustainability. We do not deduct administrative fees from donations, ensuring that every dirham reaches those in need,' said Alya Al Musaiebi, director of the foundation. 'This is a testament to our values and our promise to the generous donors who believe in this cause, to restore hope to children who lost their families and dreams amid the war and suffering.' Children will receive not just financial aid, but structured support that fosters stability, education and psychological well-being. An Eid Clothing Initiative is also part of the campaign, enabling donors to contribute Dh200 to provide new clothes for orphans, ensuring they can celebrate with dignity and joy. Taawon's expertise, built through decades of experience in Gaza, ensures that aid reaches those in need efficiently and transparently. 'Building on our experience in development and humanitarian programmes, we have structured the Noor initiative to support Gaza's orphans comprehensively,' said Dr Tareq Emtairah, director general of Taawon. 'With the foundation as a strategic partner, we are scaling our efforts to provide long-term stability, ensuring that these children not only survive but thrive.' In October 2024, the UN children's agency Unicef estimated there were up to 18,000 orphans in the Gaza Strip after more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hamas, many of them without any family members. The For Gaza campaign calls upon philanthropists, businesses, civil society and individuals to take part in shaping a better future for them. Donors can contribute through bank transfer to Sharjah Islamic Bank, cheque payments to the foundation headquarters, cash donations, online contributions or by SMS. Support one orphan for Dh625 for a month, Dh7,500 for a year, Dh37,000 for five years and Dh75,000 for 10 years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Hamas says ready for indirect Gaza truce talks to resolve 'points of contention' in US proposal
Hamas has said it is ready to immediately begin indirect talks on the remaining 'points of contention' in a US ceasefire and hostage deal proposal, as mediators vow to increase efforts to reach a truce in Gaza. The group submitted its response on Saturday to the Gaza truce plan presented by Washington's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas did not accept nor reject the deal, but Mr Witkoff called the response 'totally unacceptable'. He said it 'only takes us backwards' and called on Hamas to accept the proposal the US had presented. Hamas on Sunday said it was seeking to reach a deal that would ensure 'relief' for the people of Gaza and 'an end to the humanitarian catastrophe, ultimately leading to a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces'. The latest proposal to pause the war in Gaza comes after repeated attempts by mediators failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming military operations on March 18 after the end of a two-month truce brokered by mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar. Sources told The National on Friday that Hamas was dissatisfied with the latest plan's lack of 'genuine guarantees' that proposed negotiations with Israel would lead to an end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. In its latest statement, Hamas thanked the Arab mediators for their efforts to end the fighting. Qatar and Egypt on Sunday said they were planning to step up efforts to reach a breakthrough in negotiations. 'Qatar and Egypt, in co-ordination with the United States of America, affirm their intention to intensify efforts to overcome the obstacles facing the negotiations,' the two mediators said in a joint statement. 'The two countries are also striving to swiftly reach a 60-day temporary truce, which would pave the way for a permanent ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.' On Friday, Israel announced that it would be blocking a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. They had intended to discuss with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas moves regarding statehood. Israel's refusal to allow the visit embodies Israeli 'extremism and arrogance', Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Sunday. His statement came during a joint press conference in Amman with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain, after they met as part of an Arab contact group that was planning to meet Mr Abbas in Ramallah. The Israeli decision 'embodies and affirms its extremism and rejection of any serious effort for peace and for a diplomatic path', Prince Faisal said. Amid the deadlocked Gaza truce talks, Israel has been intensifying its military offensive in the territory. Army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir on Sunday ordered an 'expansion' of the campaign into new areas in the north and south of the strip. Dozens of people were killed or injured in a shooting near a food bank in Gaza on Sunday, with witnessing saying Israeli troops opened fire on civilians collecting aid, an allegation the Israelis denied. The Red Cross reported a 'mass casualty influx' of 179 people at a field hospital in nearby Rafah, of whom 21 were declared dead on arrival. It said most had gunshot or shrapnel wounds. Survivors said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site. Over the past week, at least 39 Palestinians have been reported dead and more than 220 wounded while trying to collect food from new aid centres in Gaza, which are staffed by US private security guards. Officials and survivors say the Israelis have been drawing starving civilians into traps under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
US: Multiple people injured in Colorado attack; male suspect in custody
Police said a male suspect was taken into custody on Sunday after an attack that injured multiple people in Boulder, Colorado, in what the FBI director described as a "targeted" act of terror. Information on the attack, which occurred near a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza, was 'very preliminary", Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said. But he noted the man was apprehended following calls to police dispatch of someone with a weapon who was 'setting people on fire". While FBI Director Kash Patel described the incident as a "targeted terror attack", Redfearn stressed it was too soon to speculate about a motive. 'We are not calling it a terror attack at this moment,' Redfearn said. 'This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable,' he said. 'I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy.' He said some of the victims' injuries were consistent with burns. The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the United States over Israel's war in Gaza, which has spurred both an increase in antisemitic hate crime as well as moves by conservative supporters of Israel led by President Donald Trump to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. His administration has detained protesters of the war without charge and cut off funding to elite US universities that have permitted such demonstrations. The attack follows the arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C. Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel. The shooting fuelled polarisation in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. "We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza," a statement attributed to Boulder's Jewish Community said. Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted on social media that he was closely monitoring the situation, adding that "hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable". Redfearn said he was not able to identify the suspect yet, noting that he had been taken to hospital. He added there were multiple injuries among the victims, ranging 'from very serious to more min".
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
Gaza cannot afford more ceasefire stalemate
Yesterday's reports from Palestinian media that at least 30 people in Gaza were killed by Israeli gunfire at an aid distribution point only underlines the dire consequences that confront the enclave's suffering civilian population in the absence of a ceasefire. The day before, it appeared that Gaza's deadly stalemate was set to continue. US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Saturday that Hamas's response to a Washington-backed ceasefire plan for Gaza was ' totally unacceptable '. In doing so, the stage is set for further conflict in which it has been long apparent there are no winners. Since Israel resumed military operations on March 18 after the end of a two-month truce brokered by mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar, the suffering inflicted on the Palestinian territory is almost without compare in modern times. In its response to the Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians and injured more than twice that number. Much of the enclave lies in ruins amid critical shortages of food, medicine and water caused by a months-long Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid. Such unacceptable death and destruction would ordinarily lead to frantic negotiations to try and bring the bloodshed to a close. And yet, despite month upon month of mediation involving key Middle East countries and the US, the violence continues. In Gaza, Palestinian civilians are literally caught in the crossfire between an Israeli military guided by politicians that have made no secret of wanting to ethnically cleanse the territory of its inhabitants and Hamas, an organisation that recklessly attacked Israel with no defensive strategy or capability that could protect Gaza's people from collective punishment. The fact that what is being discussed is essentially a time-limited ceasefire, rather than a settlement, shows how entrenched the war has become. Continuing disputes over the duration of the proposed truce, when and how the remaining Israeli hostages should be released, and the mechanics of getting essential aid into Gaza combine to delay a deal that could save lives and provide an important break in the conflict. This latter point is essential for ending Gaza's default setting of punishing violence and displacement. The fact that what is being discussed is essentially a time-limited ceasefire, rather than a settlement, shows how entrenched the war has become Frustration at this continuing failure to strike a deal is palpable. Late last month, Gaza truce talks in Doha collapsed with sources telling The National that Israel's three-man delegation appeared to have had no mandate to negotiate and spent more time in their hotel rooms than at the negotiating table or with the mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar. Compounding such failures to strike a deal is the availability of realistic and practical alternatives to war without end. An Egyptian plan was adopted in March at the Arab Summit in Cairo; this proposed a five-year timetable for reconstruction and governance with Palestinian participation. Politically, the Arab Peace Initiative, a seven-point proposal for a comprehensive political settlement to the conflict, remains on the table, despite being fatefully rejected by Israel. Events are in flux, and it is to be hoped that a compromise is reached. However, what is clear is that although neither Hamas nor Israel can continue in this vein indefinitely, it is 2.3 million Gazans who cannot wait for this Gordian knot of negotiation tactics and strategies to be untangled.
