Singapore’s Muslim Community Raises $360,000 for Sulawesi Earthquake Rrelief Efforts

Singapore, MINA – Members of Singapore’s Muslim community have raised more than $360,000 for victims of the deadly earthquake that hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in September, The Straits Times reported.

A cheque for $362,510 was presented on Tuesday (Nov 27) to independent disaster relief agency Mercy Relief Singapore, which plans to put the money towards recovery projects for survivors of the 7.4-magnitude quake and tsunami which left more than 1,200 people dead and 16,700 displaced.

The Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF), a charity under the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), collaborated with mosques to raise the funds.

Efforts will include the provision of temporary shelters for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant women and people with disabilities, and the establishment of temporary learning centres for children, the foundation said on Tuesday.

RLAF executive director Zainul Abidin Ibrahim said that the community’s contributions “will enable us to touch the lives of the survivors by giving them hope and aid that will help them to get back on their feet”.

“We are especially pleased that Mercy Relief has decided to focus on helping the vulnerable and the children through education. This will help to inject the confidence for them to rebuild their lives and future,” he said.

Another cheque of $84,820 was also presented to Mercy Relief for relief efforts in the Indian state of Kerala, where floods killed more than 350 in August.

Mercy Relief’s executive director Nasaruddin Shafawi said he was heartened by the support from Singaporeans, which came in cash and in-kind donations.

Since 2004, the RLAF has collected more than $7 million from Singapore’s Muslim community for international humanitarian relief projects. (T//RS5’RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)