Manama: A student from a university in Qatar has decided to use his birthday to raise donations for a charity providing water to people in Africa.
Mohammad Farid, an Egyptian student at the Northwestern University of Qatar, who was celebrating his 20th birthday, asked his family and friends to make a donation of $20 (Dh73.46 ) or more to the ‘mycharity: water’ organisation instead of giving him gifts.
The charity describes itself as a “non-profit organisation, bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations”. It raises money to build freshwater wells, rainwater catchments and sand filters to provide drinking water solutions to people who have no regular access to clean water.
Farid, the founder and president of the human rights student organisation, said he made the decision after realising the suffering many people face on a daily basis while attempting to ensure supplies of clean drinking water reach their homes and families.
"All of my birthdays have always been about stuff. Stuff I don't want, stuff I definitely don't need. And to be honest, I hardly even remember what I got last year. Well not really, but you know what I mean… I believe that I do not need gifts, but what is needed is water in Africa – millions of people do not have easy access to water,” he said. “I urge my friends around the world to donate $20 which will go to a good cause. I want to remember my birthday by making a small difference, however small it is,” he was quoted by Qatari daily Gulf Times as saying.
Farid is now expecting friends from more than 17 countries to join him by donating.
“A billion people in the world are living without clean water, but how much are they really living? Millions contract deadly diseases from contaminated water, 45,000 people will die this week alone,” he wrote on his webpage.
"The lucky ones won’t, but still walk hours each day to get dirty water to give to their families. My birthday wish this year is not for more gifts I don’t need; it’s to give clean and safe drinking water to some of the billion living without it. I want to make my birthday matter this year."
Another human rights activist in Qatar said that Farid’s generous gesture should serve as encouragement for others to help those in need.
“I think it is a really good idea, and one in which many people around the world are participating,” he said. "I hope this encourages others to get involved with similar initiatives and help people suffering around the world.”
For more information about to contribute, visit: http://mycharitywater.org/moefarid.
