Big Heart Foundation Provides Food to 17,000 People in Gaza
Sharjah, 26 Syawwal 1437/31 July 2016 (MINA) – Sharjah-based humanitarian project The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), has teamed up with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to meet the vital food needs of 17,000 of the poorest non-refugees in the Gaza Strip for one month, WAM reported.
Through this partnership TBHF will help WFP transfer funds in the form of food electronic cards to families in need. The food card allows families to buy the nutritious food of their choice at retailers in their neighbourhoods partnering with WFP.
Food e-cards or WFP’s Cash Based Transfers (CBTs) contribute to supporting the local economy including 75 local retailers and food producers and processers. More than US$110 million were invested in Palestine’s economy through CBTs since 2011.
“The Big Heart Foundation works to alleviate hardships experienced by Arab families across the globe and is continuously involved in assessing programmes that it could help with,” said Mariam Al Hammadi, Director of TBHF’s ‘Salam Ya Seghar’ initiative.
“We were attracted to this particular project because it provides food for those in need and, most importantly, it does so by providing them with choice. WFP’s food e-cards empowers its recipients by letting them decide when and where to shop and what foods to choose.”
WFP’s CBT programme in Palestine is providing financial support to more than 170,000 non-refugees, including around 72,000 people living in the five governorates of the Gaza Strip. This includes the Gaza, Khan Yunis, North Gaza, Deir al-Balah (Middle Area) and Rafah.
“There is a real need for assistance in the Gaza Strip, as more than 75 percent of households that WFP assist include children and women. Women are sole or primary earners in approximately 25 percent of households WFP provides assistance to and many of them are elderly, have health issues or special needs. By teaming up with the WFP we know that we are working with an organisation that is best able to identify the families most in need for assistance,” added Al Hammadi.
She also highlighted the other benefits of working with WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian agency, through its CBT programme, revealing how the food e-card system has a multiplier positive effect on the local economy especially in the light of a struggling local economy.
In Palestine WFP is regularly providing basic food assistance to nearly 500,000 of the poorest people in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Assistance is delivered through in-kind food and CBTs in addition to nutrition awareness sessions.
“We are delighted to launch this new partnership with The Big Heart Foundation in support of the poorest Palestinians in Gaza,” said WFP Representative and Country Director Daniela Owen.
“Poverty and food insecurity are linked to the protracted conflict in Palestine. They can be better fought through partnerships that support innovative and sustainable solutions. WFP`s assistance through the Cash-Based-Transfer ensures that poor people’s basic food and nutritional needs are met, whilst also providing valuable impact of supporting small-medium businesses in the face of economic hardship,” said Owen. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
