Singapore communities have significantly boosted donations for Gaza’s humanitarian relief operations, signifying a whole-of-society effort to make a tangible difference for Gaza’s civilians.
Non-profit organisation Humanity Matters launched a fresh donation drive on March 8 that raised over $300,000 within two days. The amount raised will be used to finance medical supplies, food and care packages to be delivered to Gaza civilians, Humanity Matters Chairman Ong Keng Yong said at a March 10 event at The Arts House.
At the event, representatives from Chinese, Indian and Malay chambers of commerce, philanthropists and corporate leaders donated to Humanity Matters with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his wife Jane Ittogi present.
Mr Ong, Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large, said the donations exemplified Singaporeans’ spirit of compassion and solidarity to help civilians affected by the ongoing Gaza conflict.
The funds raised so far will enable Humanity Matters to immediately airlift another four tonnes of relief supplies to Gaza, and kick-start further fund-raising, he added.
A team of four volunteers from the organisation will deliver the supplies by air to Jordan on March 13 for transport to Gaza. The team will then procure medical, food and water supplies for Gaza’s needs, said Mr Ong.
Young volunteers packed 5,000 care packages for children in Gaza
Over 300 young volunteers gathered at the Soka Kindergarten in Tampines on March 9 to assemble 5,000 care packages for Gaza children.
These were part of the relief supplies to be delivered to Jordan by Humanity Matters.
Each package contained a backpack, an inflatable pillow, vitamin gummies, water bottles, a stress ball, a stuffed toy, and snacks. The 5,000 packages are worth $100,000 in total.
Speaking to volunteers on site, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam described the situation in Gaza as a “catastrophe”. He emphasised that like many countries, Singapore had called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow aid to reach people and end suffering.
“For many of us, when we see what is happening, it is very difficult to accept.”
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, over 30,800 people have been killed in the city since the recent wave of fighting started on Oct 7, 2023, after militants from the Palestinian militant group went on the rampage in Israel.
Israel said about 1,200 individuals were killed and 240 were taken hostage during the incursion.
Mr Shanmugam noted Singaporeans across religious groups, the Government and other communities collectively raised more than $10 million for Gaza relief efforts.
He said this effort is “a powerful demonstration of who we are as a society”.
“This is a whole-of-society effort. We come together across races, across religions, to do this, young and old, and try to make a concrete difference.”
The volunteers comprised students from junior colleges, madrasahs, polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education, and secondary schools.
Mr Ong, Jordan Ambassador to Singapore Samer Anton Naber and representatives of seven different religious groups were also at the event.
Humanity Matters’ fund-raiser will run until April 30.
S’pore charity raised record $8.1m for Gaza; sum dispensed to UNRWA
Another organisation, the Rahmatan Lil Alamin (Blessings for All) Foundation (RLAF), raised more than $8.1 million to provide aid for communities in Gaza in less than a month last year.
RLAF launched a fundraiser from October 19 to November 17, 2023, and collected $8,114,422.
Minister for Social and Family Development, Masagos Zulkifli, said on March 9 that the funds had been disbursed to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
On the same day, RLAF said in a Facebook post that it had been monitoring and working closely with its partners to track how aid was being delivered to beneficiaries in Gaza.
This included a session where various donors and donor organisations provided updates and answered questions via a video call.
Mr Masagos, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said RLAF will hold another fundraising round for Gaza during the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
“This new fund-raising campaign aims to rally Singaporeans to continue to donate as the situation in Gaza has become more dire.”
The campaign was slated to take place from March 20 to 26.
Efforts by RLAF and Humanity Matters add to those earlier undertaken by other humanitarian aid organisations in Singapore.
Singapore has sent a medical team to treat civilian casualties who have been taken to Egypt, and supplies such as medicine, sanitation items and food for civilians.
The Singapore Red Cross had earlier sent medical supplies, food, and water worth at least $250,000 to civilians in Gaza.
Source of images: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission
