Takiyet Al Mahrousa is one of the Ramadan charitable projects of the Egyptian Food Bank (social networking sites)

Cairo -

Without caring about the difficult economic crisis and the high cost of activities, Egyptian charities continue to activate their annual Ramadan campaigns, under the supervision of the National Alliance for Private Development Action (a government body), in addition to relief campaigns for the Palestinian people, and in conjunction with the spread of individual charitable initiatives amid a large turnout from Egyptians.

Charitable work activist Mohamed Shaker - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - describes the citizens’ demand for charitable work as “great despite the distress,” stressing that Egyptians in Ramadan challenge the difficult economic conditions and continue to do good deeds, despite the high prices and costs, as he notes the keenness of some of his clients in doing business. Charity asked to double their charitable giving this year, to make up for any shortcomings on the part of another donor.

There are 52,500 associations and social institutions in Egypt, according to official data, while the “National Alliance” consists of 34 development and service entities, among the largest charitable entities, and has partners in all governorates.

Ramadan dining tables from the Mersal Charitable Foundation in Egypt (social networking sites)

Extensive campaigns despite the difficulties

What the activist Mohamed Shaker felt was recorded by “Mersal” - one of the medical charitable organizations in Egypt - in its propaganda advertisement, on the occasion of the launch of the “Let Your Ramadan be a messenger” campaign, stressing that Ramadan is difficult this year, but it continues its work thanks to the donations of those in need.

During Ramadan, according to its data, the Foundation aims to support 958 university students from Gaza, and 742 families stranded in Egypt, in addition to thousands of Egyptian families who receive monthly financial support from it. It also announced the preparation of a fourth convoy in the name of the Foundation for the benefit of Gaza during the next few days.

Open source data - seen by Al Jazeera Net - confirms the spread of Ramadan campaigns by many prominent charitable institutions in the country, which combine support for Gaza and local beneficiaries, including the Resala Association, the Decent Life Foundation (a presidential initiative), the Misr Al-Khair Foundation, and Ammar Al-Ard.

The Egyptian Red Crescent Society was distinguished by its role on the border, as it launched a Ramadan campaign in coordination with the Palestinian Red Crescent, through its “Humanitarian Kitchen”, to prepare and prepare breakfast and suhoor meals for the displaced in the Gaza Strip, asking Egyptians to donate through bank accounts and electronic applications.

The Egyptian Zakat and Charity House, which is supervised by the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, also announced on the third day of Ramadan its success in bringing its fifth convoy to Gaza, which included 100 trucks with the participation of 80 countries. It was joined by the Egyptian Food Bank, which announced the preparation of its fifth convoy to provide relief to Gaza in the coming days, while continuing its Ramadan activities. For Egyptians.

Tributaries of charitable work

Economics professor Abdel Nabi Abdel Muttalib said in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that “charitable work in Egypt increases every year, especially the month of Ramadan, despite the high poverty rate,” which he considered very puzzling to him, as he believes that most of those who make donations are members of the middle class. Despite the problems they suffer from, their determination to do charitable work is irreversible.

Abdul Muttalib monitors the effective participation of the poor classes in charitable work, even if for small amounts, but in the end a large number of them participate, and thus the outcome becomes large. He adds, “There is another very important tributary to the continuation of charitable work, whether aid to the people of Gaza or to the Egyptians, which is Islamic charitable societies.

He explains that these associations receive very large support from all groups of people, each according to their ability, in addition to Egyptians working abroad, many of whom allocate a portion of their income to charitable work on a consistent basis, especially during Ramadan.

The Egyptian Red Crescent’s equipment for Gaza relief through its kitchen in Al-Arish, Egypt (communication sites)

Individual initiatives

This month is characterized by the spread of individual charitable initiatives, whether through charitable kitchens that distribute breakfast meals to fasting people in Egypt, or through initiatives that reach Gaza, and are documented by activists in charitable work through social networking sites.

The activist in the field of charitable work, Muhammad Mustafa, noticed the spread of the individual work path at the beginning of the month, and he mentioned - in his interview with Al Jazeera Net - that many wealthy people and stores sought to prepare Ramadan bags and food packages themselves.

Citizen Israa Muhammad also chose this path, who explained to Al Jazeera Net that in light of the difficult conditions in Gaza, she decided that her financial donation would be through one of the independent initiatives, because she sees her work with every campaign in Gaza being documented directly through social media sites.

In this context, the General Union of Palestinian Women in Cairo, which devoted a great effort at the beginning of Ramadan, was active in extending a helping hand to the Palestinians stranded in Egypt and those afflicted in the Gaza Strip, according to what the president of the union, Amal Agha, told Al Jazeera Net.

Al-Agha feels great gratitude for the Egyptian popular and official solidarity efforts, which alleviate the feelings of sadness and sadness that prevail over her due to the current difficult Palestinian circumstances, as she made sure that one of the Union’s priorities in the past days was to prepare Ramadan food bags for the Palestinian community, especially for stranded families, or those who lost their breadwinners. Or students who lost their families in the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, while providing appropriate support as much as possible.

Source: Al Jazeera