Campaign success

Big-hearted Gulf Weekly readers helped make Ramadan a special time for many needy families across the kingdom with their generous donations during Bahrain City Centre’s community campaign.

The drive entitled, ‘Make a Difference this Ramadan’, which was supported by GulfWeekly, encouraged people to contribute used or new everyday items for a good cause.

The campaign that gathered momentum throughout the holy month has seen a steady flow of donations in the form of clothes, books, eye glasses and non-perishable food.

More than 3,955 items were collected during last year’s initiative and this year more than 6,060 items were gathered for the cause. The collections included more than 3,000 bags of clothing, more than 2,500 books, more than 160 pairs of glasses and more than 400 food items.

Duaij Khalifa Al Rumaihi, BCC’s senior mall manager, said: “Bahrain City Centre thanks all shoppers for their donations of gently used items and non-perishable goods to the charity box this Ramadan.

“Members of the community truly embraced the ‘Make a Difference this Ramadan’ campaign, and we are proud to support Al Noor Charity Welfare for humanitarian causes in the local area.”

Editor Stan Szecowka added: “I would like to thank our readers for their tremendous support to another of our community campaigns.”

Among the groups of donors who were there from the beginning were the energetic members of City Walkers who put their best foot forward to kick-start the campaign.

Regular walker Beulah Roche, 65, an investor from Salmaniya, said: “This is a very good cause to help the poor and needy. It was a great success last year and I was looking forward to this opportunity again to help those in need.”

Fellow walker 45-year-old Ranjana Jaiswal, a housewife and mother of two, from Hoora, added: “I wasn’t able to take part last year as I was away during summer but am glad that I am here to experience it this time around. This is a really good thing that they are doing to help those who cannot afford many things.

“I tend to donate whenever I get the chance and it’s mainly items that are still in good condition but I don’t need. There are others that need them more.”

Not to be left behind, a couple of retail outlets did their bit to support the initiative as well. Their bags contained donations from staff as well as unsold previous stock.

The contemporary casual wear and dressy apparel sellers of the Majid Al Futtaim fashion group, Juicy Couture and Jane Norman, donated bags full of clothing along with accessories for Eid celebrations.

Also staff members from furniture brand Marina Exotic Home Interiors, kitchenware specialists Tavola and Costa Coffee made gracious contributions.

Alessandra Faria, Costa Coffee marketing executive, said: “Last year we participated in the campaign and it’s a great initiative for us to engage in as well because social responsibility is a very big part of Costa Coffee as a brand.

“When we have the opportunity to do something on a local level such as taking part in this initiative it’s really great for us.

“We’ve asked our staff to donate items they may not use or need any more to a better cause. Then we gathered clothing from our families and friends. Some members of the team even bought new items.”

Organisers had teamed up with renowned charity champions Al Noor Charity Welfare Society, who have been supporting those in need throughout the kingdom since 1997.

The charity provides funding for educational and medical purposes to those in need alongside other initiatives such as helping to rebuild homes and caring for the elderly in the community.

After the donations made their way to Al Noor’s headquarters in A’ali, they were then distributed to needy families across the kingdom.

Single mother Najma bin Mohammed Ismail, 28, from Isa Town was grateful for the food that was delivered. The stay-at-home mum doesn’t have time to work as she takes care of nine children - Nada, four months, Shahad, two, Mohammed, three, Fajer, five, Hajer, seven, Yousef and Fatima, eight, Ismail, 10, and Ibrahim, 11.

The family of 10 live in a tiny two bedroom apartment that didn’t have carpets for the tiled floors, barely any furniture and it needed a lot of maintenance. The children’s faces lit up when they were presented with sweets and different Ramadan-themed treats.

Najma, an abandoned second wife who has been living in Bahrain for the past 14 years, said: “I am extremely grateful for all the efforts made by Al Noor over the years. I had approached many societies before that and because they say I have a husband that works they have turned me away.

“My husband doesn’t help me with anything. Sometimes he will send me one outfit to use for the whole year.

“Al Noor was kind enough to help me with sending my children to school and providing us with all the basic needs like food, clothing and financial aid. I lost count of the number of times we went for days without food.

“This is why a campaign like this is good for families like mine. There are so many in need. I’d like to thank everybody that donated as well as the mall, the paper and the association for organising this.”