By Olimatou Coker
A Qatari philanthropist, Muhammed Al Noimi has on Thursday donated food items worth over 2.5 million GMD to needy Gambians across the country at a presentation held in Kanifing.
The donation aims to alleviate the hardships that needy families are going through as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hon. Ebrima Sillah, Minister of Communication, thanked the donor for reaching out to the Gambian community.
He said this huge donation will also help in complementing the government’s efforts in helping the needy.
“It is not only important to the beneficiaries but the entire government of the Gambia and I must say we are extremely happy with such a great initiative in contributing towards national development.”
He called on the beneficiaries to use the items for their rightful purposes.
Alhagie Alieu Jarju, the facilitator, said he has been collaborating with Al Noimi since 2004 in carrying out similar humanitarian gestures across the country, saying that their main intervention is in the area of building Masjids, Quranic memorization centers, and distribution of food items.
He added that this is the second massive donation that the philanthropist provided in two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021.
Jarju said the donor used to help only Salikenni and Jammeh Kunda in the NBR region but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the recent gesture has been extended to almost the entire country.
Sillah Conateh, the program coordinator, said the importance of the donation cannot be overemphasized.
He said Mr. Noimi has been helping the needy ones in the Gambia for so many years now.
Conateh extended gratitude to the Gambia Embassy in Qatar for their significant assistance in facilitating the transfer of funds from Qatar to The Gambia to facilitate this intervention.
He said Muhammed Al Noimi has been a benevolent friend of The Gambia offering assistance to improve life and livelihood of a good number of households.
“We pray that Allah continues to grant him the hands and heart to continue extending assistance to the needy and accept his good intentions and needs for him in the day of reckoning,” he said.
He thanked the government for taking a bold step in protecting its citizens and The Gambia at large.
Lamin Fofana, a beneficiary, thanked Jarju and the team for supporting them. “Alieu is a kind of person who always shares every small thing he has with his fellow human being,” he said.
