The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is encouraging Muslims across the world to provide both prayers and alms, or zakat as it's known in Islam, for displaced refugee families from Iraq, Syria, Yemen and other war-torn countries.
To promote this initiative, the United Nations agency announced the launch of a special Refugee Zakat Fund, a charitable endeavor that will have international reach and will hopefully encourage many to contribute as Ramadan starts on May 6.
Some 68 million displaced people have been aided by the UNHCR over the past seven decades, said Houssam Chahine, the agency's head of private sector partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). "Refugees in Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt need urgent assistance for food, water, health care and shelter," he said.
Indeed, the endeavor looks bold as a budget of $7.9 billion will be required to respond to the needs of the millions of displaced people around the Muslim world, and some 155,000 families are already in need of the UNHCR's assistance, requiring an additional $208.6 million this year so far.
"We are aiming, at least in the coming months, to channel lifesaving support to 24,000 of the most vulnerable refugee and displaced families," said Chahine. He continued, saying: "Ramadan is an important time for refugees, and this year we are launching a major campaign globally to encourage Muslims to remember refugees in their prayers and remember them with their zakat. However, the Refugee Zakat Fund accepts contributions all year round."
