Foundation provides food to 17,000 people in Gaza

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Foundation provides food to 17,000 people in Gaza
Food e-cards or WFP's Cash Based Transfers (CBTs) contribute to supporting the local economy, including 75 local retailers and food producers.

Sharjah - The Big Heart Foundation will help the UN World Food Programme transfer funds in the form of food cards to needy families.

By Staff Reporter

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Published: Sat 30 Jul 2016, 7:57 PM

Last updated: Sat 30 Jul 2016, 10:00 PM

The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), a Sharjah-based humanitarian project, has teamed up with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to meet the vital food needs of 17,000 of the non-refugees in the Gaza Strip for one month.
Through this partnership, the foundation will help the WFP transfer funds in the form of food cards to families in need. The food card allows them to buy the nutritious food of their choice at retailers in their neighbourhoods, which partner with the WFP.
Food e-cards or WFP's Cash Based Transfers (CBTs) contribute to supporting the local economy, including 75 local retailers and food producers. More than $110 million were invested in Palestine's economy through CBTs since 2011.
"The Big Heart Foundation works to alleviate hardships experienced by Arab families across the globe and is continuously involved in assessing programmes that it could help with," said Mariam Al Hammadi, director of TBHF's 'Salam Ya Seghar' initiative.
"We were attracted to this particular project because it provides food for those in need and, most importantly, it does so by providing them with choice. WFP's food e-cards empower its recipients by letting them decide when and where to shop and what foods to choose."
WFP's CBT programme in Palestine is providing financial support to more than 170,000 non-refugees, including around 72,000 people living in the five governorates of the Gaza Strip. This includes the Gaza, Khan Yunis, North Gaza, Deir Al Balah (Middle Area) and Rafah.
Al Hammadi said the food e-card system has a multiplier positive effect on the local economy.
Since its inception, the foundation has succeeded in meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. It has provided life-saving medical services to over 365,000 displaced Syrians as well as food and financial assistance to more than 400,000 others. In February, 2016, the foundation pledged to donate US$350,000 towards two projects run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Iraq survive tough winter conditions.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com


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