CSR Middle East, CSR dedicated platform with 3.555 corporate members in the Middle East.

Now that Ramadan and the celebrations of Eid ul Fitr are over, life for many returns to normal as most of us fall back into our old routines. However, for those in need, the holidays can be difficult as they struggle to afford clothes, food, Eid clothes for the children and other essential items.

Various companies and charities throughout Ramadan often highlight their difficulties, but it is important to remember they need our help all year round. TheWeek spoke to a number of groups in Oman to ask what they did during Ramadan and what they will continue to do to help support these individuals and families.

One of the most prominent charities in Oman, Dar al Atta’a has continued with a number of previous projects as well as introducing some new ones this year. Shatha Abbas, board member of Dar al Atta’a, said, “Ramadan has always been our busiest month as well as when the highest number of donations are received and this year was no different. We have distributed over 5,000 Ramadan rations and collected RO30,000 worth of zakat, which was distributed to the underprivileged in the Muscat area and beyond.”

Rations were distributed to areas as far reaching as Jebel Shams and Salalah. A lot of the work that was done this Ramadan has included partnerships and support from various companies in the sultanate. For example, Dar al Atta’a teamed up with the Radisson Blu and Park Inn in Muscat to organise the Box Appeal where people were asked to take one of the special boxes available, fill it with 13 listed hygiene items and return it. The filled boxes will eventually be distributed to the families, as well as boys dormitories, that Dar al Atta’a sponsors.

The Box Appeal is running up until September 15 so there is still time for people to take part. Michael Jacobi, general manager at Radisson Blu, said that at the start of the campaign they had been hoping to fill at least 1,000 boxes and he felt they were on target to achieve this. Michael said, “It is clear from the response we have received from the local community that the campaign has been very successful so far. However, the challenge will be to get all these boxes back again and filled with the relevant items. We will focus our efforts in the last two weeks of the campaign on the message to ‘fill and return’ the boxes.”

Dar al Atta’a also partnered with Omantel to launch the One Rial campaign, a mobile phone based initiative that allows Oman Mobile users to SMS the word ‘donate’ to 90001 and give RO1 per text to Dar al Atta’a. Shatha said, “We feel this is a great opportunity for many individuals to help those in need through a simple donation that will go a long way. It’s considered a sadaqa, which is a blessing to you and your family when one helps those in need.”

Aside from supporting Dar al Atta’a in this way, Omantel has been doing a number of other events and campaigns as part of its corporate social responsibility to aid society. Its campaign last year was so successful that it was able to help over 3,100 families in Oman and it was voted the best social investment project in the sultanate for two consecutive years in the Tawasul Civil Society Leaders Awards.

Hamdan al Harasi, senior manager - events and sponsorship at Omantel, said that he does notice people are more likely to donate during Ramadan and Eid than at any other time. “Ramadan is a month of mercy and it is an instilled habit with all people here to use this opportunity to help others and make a change in other peoples lives,” he said. Its campaign follows the values, ‘Giving, Sharing and Caring’ and these aspects have been shown through the three main activities that it has held this year.

The first, Giving, saw around 1,850 families receiving food boxes, which were distributed under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Development and supported by Dar al Atta’a. The second, Sharing, was a collection from the company and its employees, which will be donated to around 3,000 families, while the third, Caring, was the distribution of new clothes for Eid in association with Dar al Atta’a and covered around 1,000 people.

Aside from the donation of money and essential toiletry items, some of the supermarkets and stores throughout the country have also encouraged customers to purchase and then donate dried or non-perishable food items in store. Waheed al Zuhair, country operations manager at Sultan Center, said that their stores in Qurm and Al Khoud filled the large boxes left out for customers to leave their donations in within a week.

All of those interviewed were pleased with what has been donated and collected this year, while Dar al Atta’a said that the amount its raises rises each year. As some may be nervous about donating money, as they are unsure of how it will be spent, this is something the groups take into consideration.

Shatha said, “We take this responsibility seriously as it involves other people’s trust and money. We are extremely transparent and welcome anyone to come and see how we spend every baiza and how we choose the families that we help.” Similar to Hamdan, Waheed has also noticed that people think more of others during Ramadan and hopes it will be something they continue throughout the year.

Waheed added, “People do give but of course during Ramadan they give more. The feeling is heightened during Ramadan. But I’m sure if campaigns were done at other times of the year, they would still be successful because it isn’t only during Ramadan that people want to help.”

Views: 94

Comment

You need to be a member of CSR Middle East to add comments!

Join CSR Middle East

© 2024   Created by Dr. Fatih Mehmet Gul.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service