Air Arabia steers Dh556,000 to Sharjah Charity in in-flight donations

Sharjah: Passengers flying on Air Arabia has contributed — through envelops placed on their seats — Dh556,000 in the first six months of this year to Sharjah Charity Association as part of the Sahaab Al-Khair project.

The charity uses the money to building hospitals, provide food, and help people learn new skills in countries affected by disasters and wars.

Air Arabia, which connect over 120 destinations worldwide, is a partner of the Sharjah Charity Association.

Mohammed Hamdan Al Zari, head of projects at the Sharjah Charity Association, said the entity’s collaboration with Air Arabia established a mechanism to attract donations from benefactors wishing to support the Association’s initiatives through the on-board envelopes.

Since its launch in 2006, Al Zari noted that the initiative has established six clinics and operated 24 others. It has also conducted 11 medical campaigns primarily focused on performing surgeries for eye patients, as well as for patients suffering from severe heart diseases. The initiative has executed eight relief programmes in countries affected by disasters and wars, such as in the Horn of Africa, Syria, Palestine, and Bangladesh.

Furthermore, it has implemented eight productive projects aimed at supporting self-reliant families by providing them with tools suited to their crafts. This was intended to enable them to meet their living needs through their own efforts, which included distributing sewing machines to productive families, fishing boats, and establishing a vocational training institute to train hardworking women in embroidery as part of the women’s empowerment projects.

The initiative has also provided transportation means for young people working as drivers, supplied medical devices, built homes for the poor, and renovated dilapidated houses in remote areas of the beneficiary countries.

In addition, it has provided vaccinations against meningitis, a fatal disease that causes brain damage, dug artesian wells, supplied medical equipment for heart patients, and organised specialised medical campaigns to combat blindness, perform catheter surgeries, and open-heart surgeries.

Wheelchairs have also been distributed to people with disabilities, all at a cost exceeding Dh10.9 million. These projects were implemented through the association’s offices abroad, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country’s embassies in the beneficiary nations, within the framework of the ongoing partnership between the association and Air Arabia.