Makhzoumi Foundation, Saudi Arabia, and UAE's Ramadan Initiatives in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 31, 2019 (Newswire.com) - ​​​Lebanese MP Fouad Makhzoumi is pleased that his 7-year-ongoing initiative of a Ramadan Village in Lebanon is this year strengthened by two other similar projects, thanks to the generosity of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in the country with their support and backing of Ramadan villages in Beirut and Tripoli. 

“All three efforts, ours and that of Saudi Arabia and UAE, are needed and appreciated amid economic difficulties for our people. It’s when we come together to spread a message of hope for our Lebanese people, a gesture of solidarity, and putting goodwill in the lead of all political and economic factors,” Makhzoumi commented.

For the seventh year in a row and as a pioneer in such programs, Makhzoumi Foundation and Beirutiyat — a Makhzoumi initiative — have been running the Ramadan Village on Dar Al Fatwa land in Verdun, Beirut, offering two thousand meals of Iftar meals for those in need on a daily basis, and recreational activities are held after breaking fast.

A one-month program where volunteers of all paths start the day of preparations from 6 a.m. going on until 11:00 p.m. for preparations, set up, and cleanup. Thanks to Lebanon’s curriculum’s requirement for community service, students of schools and universities have found the Ramadan Village as the ideal contribution to the beloved country and people.

The event is multi-dimensional through its cooperative nature with NGOs throughout Ramadan to share meals and other activities related to the holy month; such as but not limited to reciting Quran, theatrical plays to teach principles of Islam, and fun games like a Ramadan Riddle to find informative information along the way in innovative and fun ways. These activities are continuation to the foundation’s long history in similar activities at its various centers country-wide. 

This event — which in its nature dates back to a span of twenty years by the Makhzoumi Foundation — was first innovated in form of rations distribution, later, in 2008, to add meal distribution nationwide to NGOs, mosques, police stations, and other portals in the country.

In 2012 and as a first in the country, Makhzoumi Foundation then started the Ramadan Village in addition to its rations distribution still running nationwide until today. The charitable event goes beyond providing food and programs to ensuring youth empowerment of the Muslim community in Lebanon in addition to the strengthening of social entrepreneurship through benefiting field contractors of all types, traders, entertainers, and other segments of the national economy, at a much needed time amid the dire economic situation.

The annual humanitarian initiative has been welcomed by the Grand Mufti, and led by MP Fouad Makhzoumi who considers such initiatives as of utmost importance amid current economic difficulties in the country. “Independent humanitarian action does not fulfill the general duty entrusted to complete it, but our initiatives as individuals and active bodies in society do not diminish the demand of the State to bear full responsibility towards its citizens, and it is impossible for us to compensate for the absence of the state,” MP Fouad Makhzoumi says.

In his turn, the Grand Mufti Darian pointed out, earlier this month at the inauguration, that such event is “privileged with the image of beloved Beirut and the image of all of Lebanon,” adding that “we live in these days in very difficult economic and financial conditions.” Daryan also called for “supporting institutions and associations, by donations that should not be reduced during the month of Ramadan,” expressing his optimism despite the financial and economic crisis, because the good exists in this nation and in each of us.

MP Makhzoumi points out that this year’s other similar programs. Saudi Arabia has generously engineered a similar type of event in Tripoli, a city north of Lebanon that is considered a second capital of the country. Makhzoumi also praises the United Arab Emirates initiative in Malab Al Baladi in Beirut.

Source: Fouad Makhzoumi