VIDEO: 16,000 relief boxes packaged in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah for quake victims

Aya El Deeb, Staff Reporter

Organised by Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) in coordination with the Ministry of the Ministry of Community Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, as well as charity foundations in the country, the “Bridges of Giving” campaign has kicked off on Saturday morning to prepare and package the urgent aid intended to those affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

The campaign is expected to continue for two weeks as of Sunday February 12, 2023.

The centers set for the preparation and packaging of aid boxes in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, witnessed a great turnout of volunteers and members of society of different nationalities, who cordially flocked to the centers to take part in the campaign.

At the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC), Dr. Hamdan Musallam Al Mazrouei, Chairman of ERC, Dr. Ghassan Abbas, Ambassador of Syria to the UAE, and Ambassador of Turkey to the UAE, Tugay Tuncer, supported the volunteers by helping them in packaging and preparing the aid boxes.

Commenting on the campaign, Dr. Hamdan Al Mazrouei, said that the ERC is part of other humanitarian foundations that joined hands in providing aid for those affected by Syria and Turkey.

“The volunteers, in a few hours from the launch of the campaign, were able to prepare three types of aid boxes, as some contained foodstuffs, others contained clothes and some else contained medical items,” he added.  

He continued, “The volunteering teams, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, were able to prepare 16,000 aid boxes, included 7,000 in Abu Dhabi, 6,000 in Dubai, and 3,000 in Sharjah.”

“The planes that carry the urgent aid work around the clock to deliver it to the people affected by the earthquake, and we are happy with the great response of the society to contribute to the campaign, whether by cash donation or commodities,” he said.  

For his part, ambassador of Syria, said, “ERC organized a beehive of volunteers that prepared urgent aid to be sent to Syria and Turkey. On behave of my country, I am extending our gratitude to the UAE for the aid that will alleviate the pain and suffering of the Syrians affected by the earthquake.”

Meanwhile, Ambassador of Turkey to the UAE, Tugay Tuncer, said, “We would like to thank the UAE for its support to Turkey by sending urgent aid to the people affected by the earthquake and dispatching medical teams and rescue squads.”  

For his part, Salem Al Suwaidi, Director of ERC centre in Abu Dhabi, indicated that the number of volunteers, who have attended to participate in the campaign, has reached 2,000 people so far. During the first hours of the campaign, they worked on packaging and preparing the essential needs in 16,000 boxes intended to be sent urgently to Syria and Turkey.  

“We have deployed 11 caravans allocated for receiving donations from philanthropist in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including 9 in the Abu Dhabi and 2 in Al Ain,” Al Suwaidi added.

He pointed out that those caravans exist at the ERC branch in Abu Dhabi, opposite Carrefour Airport Street, opposite Marina Mall, opposite Baniyas Cooperative Society in Shahama, next to Abu Dhabi Distribution Company on Najda Street, in Khalifa City behind shops, in Shawamekh City opposite Lulu Express, in Baniyas City next to Lulu Hypermarket, in Bani City Yas opposite Baniyas Cooperative Society, at the ERC branch in Al Ain and in Al Markhaniya area at the ERC’s warehouses.  

The ERC called on the volunteers to writing phrases of solidarity and sympathy in Arabic, English and Turkish for the Syrian and Turkish peoples, and put them into aid boxes of the “Bridges of Giving” campaign, with a view to confirming solidarity and support for the afflicted and the extent of sympathy for them in these painful circumstances.

A number of school students attended at ADNEC accompanied by their parents at an invitation of their schools to morally participate in the campaign, where they participated in preparing the postcards for the phrases of solidarity and sympathy.