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Nearly 7 million poor Egyptians will benefit from the Ramadan aid project this year. |
CAIRO — Like the case in the past years, Egyptians are racing to bring a long-gone smile to the faces of millions of underprivileged by donating to provide aid packages during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"Businessmen are competing to donate for the needy," Ahmed Radwan, the media officer of Egypt's Gama`ia Al-Shar`iaha (religious society), told IslamOnline.net.
"Thanks to their swift response to our appeals, this year's budget of Ramadan aid packages jumped to LE9 million ($2 million) from only LE12 billion last year."
Businessmen, charities and even lay people have joined hands in offering aid packages to nearly seven million Egyptians this Ramadan.
"Phones keep ringing from donors and the well-offs wanting to join the Ramadan aid drive," said Eman Ahmed, coordinator of a prominent preacher Amr Khaled's Ramadan Aid Baskets.
"Nearly 140 charities have joined us this year compared to only 70 last Ramadan."
Charitable donations in Muslim countries usually surge during Ramadan, which started in Egypt on Sunday, September 24.
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| "Skyrocketing prices have made a large section of Egyptians unable to buy the basic commodities during the holy fasting month," Abdel-Halim said. |
The Ramadan aid packages are meant to provide the basics for poor families during the holy fasting month, and thus bring a smile to their faces.
"We are planning to distribute two million Ramadan aid packages this year," said Radwan, whose society is one of the main sponsors of the campaign.
The aid packages are being distributed through the society's different branches nationwide.
"We have doubled the bags' contents of sugar, rice and other basic commodities, thanks to the increasing contributions of the well-offs," he added.
Nearly 600,000 orphans, 320,000 women breadwinners and 200,000 students will benefit from the Ramadan aid packages.
Some donators insist that every Ramadan bag include commodities that poor families can not afford.
"One lady donated LE 90,000 for the project," Ahmed said, adding she insisted that each package should include different kinds of high-priced yummy Ramadan sweets.
Other donators entrust the coordinators with deciding on the content of the aid packages.
Experts see the Ramadan aid packages are a communal effort to fill in the gap left by the state in catering for the poor and needy.
"This drive may have been accelerated by the dwindling state role in catering for the poor and less-fortunate," said Dr. Mohammed Abdel-Halim, professor of Islamic economy.
"Skyrocketing prices have made a large section of Egyptians unable to buy the basic commodities during the holy fasting month."
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