SINGAPORE - A local charity - Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF) - will start an online fund-raiser on Saturday (May 22) to help Palestinians in Gaza.
The funds will go to health, relief and social services for communities affected by the ongoing conflict in that region, the charity said in a release on Thursday.
RLAF - the first three words of the charity mean "blessings to all" in Arabic - is collaborating with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for this collection.
"Gaza has seen tragic injuries, loss of human lives and extensive destruction of physical infrastructure. Already-high levels of psycho-social stress, especially among children, have been further exacerbated," said RLAF.
"To date, 1.9 million Palestinian people living in Gaza - of which more than 70 per cent are registered Palestinian refugees - are in urgent need of UNRWA emergency humanitarian assistance," it added.
RLAF also said the spread of the Covid-19 virus has aggravated existing vulnerabilities in communities there.
The current outbreak of violence in the Gaza strip involving ethnic and religious fault lines between Israel and the Palestinian people began on May 10.
Palestinian health officials say 228 people have been killed by air strikes.
The Israeli death toll stands at 12.
All donations will be channelled through the UNRWA, which is actively operating on the ground to provide humanitarian aid to the victims and families, RLAF added.
The foundation was established by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) in July 2009 to provide grants for humanitarian and community development projects. It has so far sent aid to 49 humanitarian relief projects overseas, including aid last year to flood survivors in Jakarta and for the wildfires in Australia.
Members of the public can make their online donations on the following platforms from Saturday:
a. PayNow - key in RLAF's UEN: 200910530ZCHQ and indicate "Gaza" under remarks
c. Muslim.SG - RLAF - Humanitarian Aid for Gaza
d. Interbank transfer via RLAF (Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation) - transfer to OCBC current account number: 601313315001
e. Issue cheque payable to "RLAF". State on back of cheque: donor's name, contact number and indicate "Gaza". Mail your cheque to RLAF (Masjid Yusof Ishak, 10 Woodlands Drive 17, Singapore 737740) or to Muis (273 Braddell Road, Singapore 579702)
The collection will end on May 30.
