Sharjah: With the onset of Ramadan, The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), the Sharjah-based global humanitarian organisation that helps refugees and those in need worldwide, has announced a campaign titled ‘Who am I?’ to appeal for Zakat (alms) and general donations.
The campaign calls on the humanitarian spirit without using haunting images of suffering or using the personal information of the initiative’s beneficiaries.
Targeting refugees and people in need across several countries, including Lebanon and Palestine, and those at the Big Heart Educational Centre in the UAE, the Zakat and donations raised by the campaign will fund humanitarian projects in food, healthcare, and education.
TBHF said the reason behind choosing a specific creative route to convey their message for Ramadan to the donor community this year stems from their belief that respecting the privacy and dignity of refugees and those in need is a humanitarian act equal to providing them with food, healthcare and education.
The campaign, to be led by changemakers, thought leaders, artists and influencers, stresses that people do not necessarily need to see people in pain or misery to extend financial support to them.
How will the donations be used?
Zakat contributions and general donations to TBHF will provide speech- and hearing-impaired children in The Big Heart school in the Palestinian city of Qalqilya with scholarships. Also, undergraduate students at the Faculty of Medicine in Gaza will receive scholarships to fulfil their dreams of becoming doctors.
In Lebanon, charitable donations will be utilised to offer surgeries and healthcare to children impacted by war and disasters. In other countries where many residents lack some of the necessities of life, including drinking water and food, the donations will go towards alleviating their hunger and providing them access to clean, safe water.
Meanwhile at ‘The Big Heart Educational Centre’ in the UAE, the campaign will seek to provide new learning opportunities for children and adults who had to leave school and flee their home countries because of conflicts and crises. This group will include beneficiaries who completed high school but did not have the financial resources to go to college.
Commenting on the launch, Mariam Al Hammadi, director of TBHF said: “Fellow humans, we will not show hopeless pictures of pain and suffering. We will not display images of refugees or families in need of life’s necessities. We will not publish their names or pictures to prove that they deserve our support. We will, however, share their pictures in moments of joy and triumph. Because we are humans, and they are too. It is our duty to protect their privacy and dignity and safeguard their humanity.”
She added: “TBHF’s Ramadan 2022 Zakat campaign ‘Who am I?’ will tell the stories of refugees and those in need in a number of countries worldwide including Palestine and Lebanon, via known figures who came forward to celebrate the spirit of the Holy Month by lending their powerful voices to support the campaign’s beneficiaries. We will listen to their stories with you, and through your generosity, we will deliver life’s necessities they are unable to afford.”
