JEDDAH: A pilgrim who found a bag containing cash and jewelry has been praised for his honesty after he handed it over to authorities.
Lutfi Mohammed Abdulkarim, from Egypt, was looking for pebbles to perform the rami Al-Jamrat ritual in Mina when he found the unattended bag. He asked around, but could not find the owner.
Inside the bag, as well as the valuables, Abdulkarim found an ID card suggesting it belonged to a Nigerian woman. He handed the bag over to officials from King Salman’s Hajj and Umrah Program, of which he is a guest.
Ahmed Jailan, a member of the program’s Sharia committee, said: “The pilgrim is with us in the program after one of his sons, a police officer, was killed in his country. He is of high moral standards and a good example of the guests of the program.”
The bag and its contents will be returned to their owner, Jailan said. “This emphasizes the meaning of solidarity and cooperation.”
He said he hoped all pilgrims would follow such a good example.
Meanwhile, Palestinian pilgrim Abdullah Mohammed Sharaka’s grief at losing his 14-year-old son was replaced by pleasure and joy when he and his wife arrived in Makkah as guests of King Salman’s Hajj and Umrah Program.
Sharaka said King Salman’s generosity had healed the wounds of many Palestinians who had been living in bitterness after losing children, brothers, fathers or mothers. His son, Ahmed, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers for throwing stones.
Sharaka said he could not express his pleasure when he was selected for the Hajj and Umrah Program. He found it hard to believe as he was walking in the districts of Makkah and the holy sites.
He said he would pray for King Salman, asking Allah to keep him and bestow security on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Honest Hajj pilgrim returns bag with cash and jewelry
Honest Hajj pilgrim returns bag with cash and jewelry
Saudi kitchen to provide 24,000 daily meals to Palestinians in Gaza
- The kitchen plans to produce 3,600,000 meals to Palestinians in central Gaza and to enable the employment of 40 local workers
- Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the general supervisor of KSrelief, said that 90 percent of Gaza’s population is below the poverty line, lacking access to food, water, and medicine
RIYADH: King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, also known as KSrelief, established a central kitchen in the Gaza Strip to support the Palestinian people as part of Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian efforts.
The Saudi kitchen has begun providing 24,000 daily hot meals since the start of Ramadan last week for Palestinians in the central Gaza towns of Deir Al-Balah and Al-Qarara.
The initiative is part of the Saudi Popular Campaign for the Relief of the Palestinian People in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage.
At the end of the initiative period, the kitchen will have produced and distributed 3,600,000 meals to Palestinians in central Gaza and enabled the employment of 40 local workers, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the general supervisor of KSrelief, told SPA that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip is “one of the largest crises in the history of humanity.”
He highlighted that Palestinians are facing displacement and urgent humanitarian needs, with 90 percent of Gaza’s population below the poverty line, lacking access to food, water, medicine, and necessities for children and infants.
Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to launch an air bridge, as well as sea and land convoys, sending aid to Gaza via over 80 planes and dozens of vessels, through the Jordanian and Egyptian crossings.
Dr. Al-Rabeeah noted that KSrelief used airdrops to deliver aid to Gaza after October 2023, when other means were not possible, the SPA added.
He said the Saudi kitchen will serve over 36,000 families and described it as “the largest central kitchen available for a group of displaced people.”
