Volunteers pack relief parcels for Gaza at Sharjah Expo Centre.

Abdul Rahman Saeed, Staff Reporter

As many as 45,500 relief parcels and food baskets have been prepared and collected as a result of the Tarahum for Gaza campaign, which the UAE launched earlier to provide relief to the Palestinians affected by the war in the Gaza Strip.

The campaign was launched in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai with the participation of 13,900 volunteers over the course of the campaign.

According to Rashid Al Mansouri, Deputy Secretary General for Local Affairs at the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), a total of 38,000 parcels have been sent to those affected in Gaza since the campaign was launched.

In media statements on Sunday at the campaign headquarters in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC), Al Mansouri explained that over 10,900 volunteers participated so far in the campaign, noting that this is the second week of the campaign, which was launched to alleviate the suffering of young people, women, children and the elderly in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Sharjah prepared 7,500 relief packages on Sunday at Expo Centre Sharjah to be sent to those affected in Palestine.

The Sharjah Expo Centre witnessed the influx of thousands of volunteers, both citizens and residents, to participate in preparing food and relief baskets for the Palestinian brothers affected by the war in the Gaza Strip.

“All UAE humanitarian and charitable establishments and philanthropists demonstrated co-operation to support this campaign following the UAE leadership headed by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,” he said.

“We witnessed a large turnout from our volunteers, even those who were unable to donate financially, exerted as much efforts as they could to support and make a success of the campaign,” he added.

The UAE relief packages will arrive through official international channels in co-ordination with the Egyptian government for delivery as soon as possible, he said.

It was decided to extend the working hours of the campaign in Abu Dhabi on Sunday from 2pm until 4pm considering that thousands of volunteers were keen on coming to participate in the campaign, he added.

Due to the large number of volunteers, the ERC team had to divide the them into groups that change every hour at the latest during the centre’s working hours with a view to giving the opportunity for the largest number of volunteers to participate in this humanitarian campaign, he said.

Thousands of families took their children of all age categories to the campaign centre in ADNEC in order to implant the culture of volunteerism in their hearts and consolidate the idea of helping others, he added.

From the first hour, hundreds of food parcels and consumer goods were prepared and packed to be delivered to the Palestinians in Gaza through internationally accredited official channels, he said.