Continuing its tradition of giving and helping the community during Ramadan, HSBC has organised five initiatives, from iftar[1] to food packing, fundraising and charity collections, to help the poor and less fortunate celebrate Ramadan in the United Arab Emirates this year. HSBC staff will be volunteering about 1,000 hours this Ramadan to make these activities a success.

Abdulfattah Sharaf, Chief Executive Officer of United Arab Emirates, HSBC Bank Middle East said, “Supporting our communities is an important part of working for HSBC.  We are very pleased to be able to create important and valuable opportunities during Ramadan for our staff to donate their time to working with those in need in the UAE."

Abdin Taher Al Awadhi, General Manager of Beit al Khair, a UAE charity organisation said, “HSBC has been supporting our programs for orphans and less fortunate children for the past three years. We are delighted to continue the partnership this Ramadan through three initiatives; Packing of food boxes for needy families, Fundraising to buy school supplies for less privileged children and HSBC Amanah’s ‘Box of Hope’ charity drive. May these bring joy and happiness to the less fortunate in our community.”

The five HSBC Ramadan activities in the UAE are:

• Packing of food boxes for needy families

For the second year, HSBC staff is helping Beit al Khair, a charity organisation in the UAE, pack and transport food items to needy families across the UAE. More than 700 families will receive food packages, each consisting of three weeks’ worth of food supplies.

• Fundraising to buy school supplies for less privileged children

From 1 to 30 August, HSBC will donate AED 400 for every customer who buys a HSBC Amanah product. The donation will be collected and given to Beit al Khair so that it can buy one year’s worth of school stationaries for orphans and less privileged children. Each 400 AED donation buys one child school stationary for a year. HSBC aims to raise enough funds to help at least 1,000 children. HSBC will also be giving Beit al Khair money tins to staff and interested customers. When full, they can return it to the charity organisation and specify how they would like their donations to be used.

• Box of Hope

This first global Ramadan campaign by an international Islamic bank is HSBC Amanah’s charity initiative that gets the whole family excited about contributing to less fortunate children this Ramadan. Besides the UAE, ‘Box of Hope’ is also rolled out in Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the UK. In the UAE, customers can pick up their boxes from any HSBC branch. They can then bring it home for their children to fill it with toys, clothes, shoes, books or stationery that they would like to donate to orphans or the less privileged children. The box can then be dropped off at any HSBC branch or Beit al Khair’s offices. Customers can also visit the Box of Hope website to find the nearest location to drop the boxes. The website also has other suggestions on how parents can teach their children about Ramadan, an FAQ on Ramadan and prayer times for Muslims in the countries where Box of Hope is offered.   

• Iftar for orphans

HSBC UAE, together with Action Care, an organisation that helps less privileged people in the Middle East, has arranged eight iftar sessions for children in every Emirate. At every session, there are fun activities, such as balloon sculpting and face-painting, followed by a healthy iftar meal. Each child also receives a ‘gift bag’ before going home.     

• Iftar for labourers

As part of a regional iftar for labourers, HSBC is arranging meals for labourers in the UAE to break their fast this Ramadan. Similarly, in Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, HSBC is arranging meals for labourers and underprivileged families as well as individuals to break their fast this Ramadan.