Mohammed V Foundation launches Ramadan community campaign

2009-09-02

Nearly half a million Moroccan households will receive baskets of food from the Mohammed V Foundation this Ramadan.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 02/09/09

[Siham Ali] The Mohammed V Foundation will distribute food baskets to more than 467,000 Moroccan households this Ramadan.

Ramadan is a key moment for community spirit among Moroccans, when people from all walks of life do what they can to support those who are in need.

The Mohamed V Solidarity Foundation organises a nationwide food distribution programme each year that embodies this spirit of giving. The programme, the largest of its kind, is keenly anticipated by needy families every year. Baskets containing necessary food items are given to people from all regions, enabling poor families to meet the needs of the holy month, when consumption rises considerably.

King Mohammed VI launched the campaign in person on Monday (August 31st) in Rabat, in the impoverished working-class district of Yaâcoub El Mohammed.

Kaiss Benyahya, communications director for the Mohammed V Foundation, said the operation is one of the landmark humanitarian activities undertaken by the Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation, and that it presents an opportunity to confirm the country's attachment to its cultural and religious values.

The baskets handed out this year contain 122 dirhams' worth of staples, including 10 kg of flour, 2 cakes of sugar (4 kg), 5 litres of oil and 250 g of tea. While this hardly covers the demands of the holy month, it is a welcome helping hand for struggling families.

Fatima, 40, told Magharebia that since she lost her husband, she has benefitted from the operation every year, enabling her to ease the burden of expenditure during this month.

This year, a budget of 57 million dirhams has been allocated to the initiative. This is enough to provide aid to 2.34 million people in 467,100 households. Widows, the elderly and the handicapped benefit first from the baskets.

The majority of people receiving assistance (over 2 million) are in rural areas, while urban areas account for 320,000 more.

Financing for the project comes from the General Directorate of Local Communities at the interior ministry (30 million dirhams), the Ministry for Habous and Islamic Affairs (12.5 million), and the Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation (14.5 million).

Other organisations run community assistance operations during Ramadan as well. The Moroccan Red Crescent (CRM), for example, launched an operation to distribute food through traditional schools and zawiyas across different prefectures and provinces in Morocco.

Middle-class families also come together to support the needy. Some households are in the habit of distributing ftour platters every day to those who knock at their doors.

Driss T. said that during this month it is right to help society's least well-off members, by offering them the same dishes as can be found at the family table. "When someone rings the bell at the time of breaking fast, I don't think twice about giving them something to eat and asking them to come back each evening. If I'd had the means, I'd have organised community meals in my district," he said.

Compassion is not reserved for the poor, however. Professionals who work far from their families also find their neighbours rallying round them. This is particularly true of young single people, who are often inundated with invitations to sit down for the meal with friends or neighbours.

Hamid Bouyaâli is from Arfoud but works in Rabat. "With my neighbours and my friends, I find myself surrounded by people, and there's such a friendly atmosphere. It's like being with family," he said.