The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia yesterday donated 150 tonnes of assorted food items to the Ghanaian Muslim community in support of this year’s Ramadan.
The items include rice, beans, maize, cooking oil and tomato paste.
The donation forms part of the Eta’am project which was solely funded by King Salman Humanitarian and Relief Centre (KSrelief).
At a presentation ceremony in Accra, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Mesha Bin Hamdan Alrogi, said the food would provide relief to about 15,000 needy families.
He noted that the government of Saudi Arabia was undertaking the humanitarian programme across the globe to provide support to the needy.
Since its establishment in 2015, he said the KSrelief had become the focal point through which the government provided assistance to people of the world.
Mr Alrogi noted that Ghana was a beneficiary through the annual donation of date fruit and 17 container-load of medical supplies in 2018 to help boost medical delivery in the country.
Beyond the donations, he said Ghana’s annual quota for scholarship had been increased to 159 to enable more students gain access to education and study their programme of choice.
Regina Appiah Sam, Director of Middle East, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, commended the government of Saudi Arabia for implementing projects aimed at alleviating the challenges of the poor and needy.
She noted that Ghana had maintained close bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia for about 60 years, adding that the donation served as reaffirmation to the collaboration between the two countries.
Member of Parliament (MP) of Asawase, Mubarak Muntaka, called on Ghanaian Muslims to unite and work together to fight poverty.
He explained that large number of Muslims have been on the receiving end of the generosity of others, saying it was “to make efforts to move from people who receive to those who give.”
He underscored the need for education, which according to him would empower them to be able to fend for themselves and not depend on handouts.
Bin Abdallah, Coordinator of Zongo Development Fund, urged the youth to take advantage of scholarship opportunities offered by Saudi Arabia and focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to help reduce poverty
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
