SHARJAH, (Pakistan Point News - 18th Jan, 2021) In a tumultuous year marked by economic and social upheavals worldwide as nations battled the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, and compounded by tragic disasters such as the Beirut port blasts and several natural calamities including devastating floods in Sudan, The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), a Sharjah-based global humanitarian organisation, rose to the forefront of spearheading an international philanthropic response as it funded 39 projects in key vital sectors, totalling AED38,979,601 (US$10,598,043).
Signalling an increase of 23 projects from the previous year, TBHF’s 2020 annual report states that these collaborative partnerships have also impacted 803,175 beneficiaries in 15 countries – up by 656,404 beneficiaries across 11 countries in 2019. Amid a surging pandemic, many of TBHF’s humanitarian projects in 2020 focused on boosting healthcare capacities and sanitation facilities on sites for refugees and internally displaced people around the world, while also prioritising education, infrastructural facilities, living conditions, and ensuring necessities, as well as providing emergency aid and relief operations.
According to the 2020 annual report, TBHF funded 12 healthcare projects worth AED19,486,327 that benefitted 714,258 individuals and eight projects in the education sector that impacted 66,657 beneficiaries at a cost of AED4,727,341. It launched four infrastructure projects worth AED7,442,013 targeting 3,340 people; eight projects to improve the livelihood of 5,710 individuals at a cost of AED3,908,886, and three projects in the protection sector worth AED1,470,968 to benefit 912 children, refugees, and displaced people.
In addition, the Sharjah-based foundation provided emergency relief to 10,798 beneficiaries through three projects valued at AED1,643,658 and launched an AED300,408-project to provide for the basic needs of 1,500 individuals.
In a statement, Mariam Al Hammadi, Director of TBHF, said that the extraordinary events of 2020 are a reminder for humanitarian organisations to adopt an emergency response preparedness approach to deliver critical assistance swiftly and efficiently in cooperation and coordination with relevant entities working to achieve the same goals.
She pointed out that under the directives of H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of TBHF, and UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, the Foundation continues to boost its readiness to fulfil its duties in overcoming humanitarian challenges being encountered globally, and focused attention on sustainable projects designed to benefit the most vulnerable populations including children, refugees and displaced persons, who have been disproportionately impacted by the events of 2020.
In August 2020, Sheikha Jawaher launched an international emergency aid campaign titled "Salam Beirut" to support the victims of the devastating explosions that struck Port Beirut. Mobilised in cooperation with on-ground local partners, the humanitarian initiative focused on providing medical aid, food and water supplies as well as shelter to victims, in addition to vital services such as healthcare and sanitation.
Since its launch last year, the campaign received an amount of AED33 million in donations. From this, a sum of AED13.7 million has been utilised for relief work carried out in 2020 including the restoration of 485 homes; reconstruction of the emergency and trauma (ERT) unit of the Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre; rehabilitation of migrant workers who lost their homes and sources of livelihood, and the provision of support and psychological care for 630 boys and girls and reuniting them with their families. The remaining AED19.3 million will be utilised for the second phase of projects to be implemented in Lebanon in 2021.
Throughout 2020, TBHF funded humanitarian interventions in Lebanon across several vital sectors worth AED16.5 million, including AED2.8 million for various projects that were funded before the Port Beirut blasts.
‘Support Knows No Safe Distance’ Sheikha Jawaher launched a fundraising campaign titled "Support Knows No Safe Distance" last April to boost healthcare capacities in sites hosting refugee and internally displaced people in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Bangladesh, and Kenya. With coordinated support from its key partners in these nations, TBHF mobilised resources and prioritised activities to support programmes in health, educational awareness, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Each organisation received a sum of US$100,000 to address the most pressing protection, lifesaving and integration needs of refugees and displaced populations across these five countries.
Under the campaign, TBHF also provided food supplies to families and individuals in the UAE who were affected directly or indirectly by the spread of COVID-19. Till date, TBHF has provided food supplies to 660 families and 1,400 individuals in the UAE.
Building a PICU in Cairo, Egypt Amongst the 12 healthcare projects unveiled by TBHF last year, there was one in Egypt where the entity supported the advancement of healthcare services specifically for children, by allocating AED14.6 million to build and fully-equip a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the upcoming Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in Cairo. The funding will also enable the children’s hospital to acquire a fleet of well-equipped ambulances. The PICU will be named in memory of the late Sheikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, son of the Ruler of Sharjah. It is slated for completion in 2023 and will cater to 2,000 children annually.
Support for Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Pakistan Another healthcare project undertaken last year included an AED4.4 million programme to equip two operating theatres with state-of-the-art medical equipment to facilitate surgical oncology services at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Peshawar, Pakistan. The project will benefit nearly 2,500 cancer patients.
The allocated sum was sourced from the Ameera Fund, a global fund run collaboratively by the Sharjah-based Friends of Cancer Patients and TBHF, under the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher.
Sustainable village in Niger In line with its strategy to create a sustainable impact on communities via long-term development projects, TBHF implemented several livelihood projects in 2020 including a partnership project with Sharjah Charity House to develop an AED 2,007,559 sustainable village in Niger in West Africa.
Named after the late Sheikh Khalid the sustainable village – when completed in 2022, will comprise 20 houses and will feature income-generation activities on the farmland through agriculture and livestock rearing. The funds will also support the construction of a school and fully equipped medical clinic and laboratory.
Several projects initiated by TBHF in 2020 sought to empower young girl refugees with quality education. One of these is the AED3,672,960 million project to construct a girl’s boarding secondary school at the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement in the Republic of Kenya. The fully-equipped boarding school, which is expected to be ready in time for the 2021 academic year, will benefit 360 students including refugees in the settlement as well as girls from the surrounding host community.
Among the several emergency aid projects implemented, TBHF allocated AED755,149 in Sudan to provide essential emergency assistance to 8,000 people whose homes were destroyed in the devastating floods of September 2020.
The scope of the 2020 edition of Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support (SIARA 2020) was expanded to include entities from across the entire African continent.
In a virtual ceremony, Tumaini Letu, a non-profit organisation based in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, Africa, and founded by refugee poet and artist Trésor Nzengu Mpauni was announced as the winner of the AED500,000 award for its flagship programme, the annual Tumaini Festival, an art and culture event. SIARA 2020 received 242 nominations from 52 countries across Asia, the middle East and Africa.
TBHF also funded projects in Kenya worth 5,270,949, and AED551,700 in Jordan. It also allocated AED8,435,934 for projects in Pakistan that included establishing computer and English language laboratories for elementary as well as high schools, and community development centres in partnership with local and international entities.
TBHF projects in other countries included Palestine (AED1,301,732); Nigeria (AED212,519); Ethiopia (AED300,408); India (AED256,853); Bangladesh (AED367,800) Iraq (AED36,449); and Bosnia (AED218,973). A sum of AED1,599,474 was allocated to support vulnerable families in the UAE.
