RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) carried out 15 projects to hand out food baskets and iftar meals during Ramadan in 13 Muslim countries, at a total cost of $14 million.

“This move comes as part of the efforts exerted by King Salman and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to assist needy families in brotherly Muslim countries and meet their urgent needs,” said KSRelief’s supervisor general, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.

“Those projects benefited a total of 1,699,000 people. In Jordan, 26,634 food baskets were distributed, benefiting 119,152 Syrian refugees. In Somalia, 35,000 food baskets were distributed, benefiting 210,000 people. In Sudan, the center distributed 13,725 food baskets to 62,430 beneficiaries. In Palestine, 34,040 people benefited from 9,733 food baskets, while 120,000 people benefited from 20,000 food baskets in Afghanistan.”

He added that “119,240 people from host communities and Rohingya refugees benefited from 29,810 food baskets in Bangladesh.” 

KSRelief “also distributed 306,000 iftar meals benefiting 306,000 people, and 16,067 food baskets benefiting 96,402, in brotherly Yemen,” said Al-Rabeeah.

In Chad, “KSRelief distributed 12,400 food baskets, benefiting 74,400 people, while it distributed 18,250 food baskets, benefiting 91,250 people, in Pakistan,” he added.

“In Syria, the center provided 32,000 food baskets, benefiting 192,000 Syrians. KSRelief handed out 10,500 food baskets in Tajikistan, benefiting 105,000 people. In Albania, 7,300 food baskets were distributed, benefiting 43,800 people. In Lebanon, the center distributed 1,050 meals to 70 people, and 27,714 food baskets benefiting 125,359 Syrian students.”

Eid Kiswa 

With the objective of ensuring that no child is denied happiness during the festive occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, KSRelief entered into an agreement to distribute Eid gifts to Yemeni children.

This is being implemented under the “Your Happiness is Our Happiness” project, KSRelief said on Wednesday.

The initiative involves distributing toys, clothing and other items to 7,590 children in four Yemeni governorates: Aden, Hadramawt, Al-Mahrah and Marib.

The agreement was signed by KSRelief’s assistant supervisor general of operations and programs, Ahmed Al-Baiz, at its headquarters in Riyadh.

Ali Hassan, executive director of the Selah Foundation for Development, which is the implementing partner for the project, praised Saudi Arabia and KSRelief for providing the Yemeni people with a wide range of support, and for alleviating their suffering during the ongoing conflict in their country.

This partnership will lead to additional cooperation with KSRelief in various humanitarian fields to serve Yemen and its people, he said.

Ayoub Abu Bakr, director of the Aden office of Yemen’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, thanked KSRelief for implementing the agreement and many other projects during Ramadan to lift the spirits of vulnerable communities, including orphans and people with special needs.