m i l l i o n a i r e PA S S I O N & P O W E R

A Ramadan guide to charity

The power
of giving
Charity is about changing lives, even that of the giver. At the upper end of philanthropy’s spectrum,
you can find projects that will absorb your entire year’s budget. And you can travel to see the
smiles on the faces that benefit from your benevolence – knowing with complete transparence
how your charity dirham is being used
text Shalini Seth

Paul Macleod, WFP

Saudi Special Ambassador to the UN, Abdulaziz Arrukban, on a visit to Cambodia

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 miljonair xxxxx
Her Royal Highness Princess Haya bint Al Hussein,
WFP’s Goodwill Ambassador, on a visit to Malawi
“I t is the season for giving,” World Food Programme’s
Zeina Habib says matter-of-factly as she puts to-
gether her notes for the month of Ramadan. And
she is prepared to receive any amount. “No amount
is too small or too big,” she says – informing you that a mere 19
cents US, (70 fils, UAE) can feed a child for a day, while she
outlines a customised project for as much as $3 million that can
feed 3,060,000 children for a year.
An extra $3m will also give them cooking supplies, forks and
spoons, teachers in schools and mosquito nets.
Customising no longer seems the prerogative of the carmakers
and ateliers. Humanitarian organisations now call their donors
“clients” and make sure that they have a menu of programmes
from which to choose. They plan and execute.
“We work in 82 countries, with programmes that include
everything from Food for Work to Food for Education. You
Hisham, WFP
can even log on to donate some money, with options such as
which country you would like the money to go to, or even which
project. We need funds for them all. Sometimes donors ask us
for guidance. They also like to visualise where the money is
going. We organise a visit to the project so you can see how
your money is being used and help you plan what you want to
do next,” Habib says.
Organisations go one step further. “We have ongoing projects
in the areas of health, education, water, community development
We don’t want just the cheque. We work with you,” says Hani
Alzubaidi, Marketing Director for LIFE, Gulf.
Their list of specialisations is not designed simply to tug
at heartstrings. Charity organisations now offer turnkey
management of client operations, single or multiple service
inputs and advisory services for operations management. They
can and do deliver tangible inputs. They will create a project >
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 m i l l i o n a i r e PA S S I O N & P O W E R

“I still have a jet-setting
lifestyle. I call it a good day
if I have breakfast in Tanzania,
lunched in Rwanda and dined
in Nairobi. And I still make
millions. Only, it is for other
people. It is my duty to make
money now”
for you with clear expectations. The logic is simple. Barbara
Castek, CEO of Dubai Aid and Humanitarian City (DHAC)
says: “We feel that if organisations provide a proper vehicle to
the donor, aid will be forthcoming. Money will come.”
And it does. A campaign called Trillion for Lebanon
registered itself as a non-profit making organisation this July to
create fundraising campaigns for Lebanon. A committee of 22,
with 200 members got together to create different fund-raising
campaigns to making giving easier. Armed with an approval
from Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department and
the money eventually going to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Foundation, which is
in charge of controlling and distributing aid to Lebanon from
the UAE, the charity is hard at work. A hoarding campaign,
for instance allows a company to divert some of its advertising
spend in buying space on a billboard. Another fund-raiser from
Trillion for Lebanon organised a charity sale of high-end brands
which included clothes, perfumes and electronics. For the
average shopper, the high of getting a good deal was offset by the
fact that the money goes towards charity. It is almost as if, you
cannot help but give. “Our focus was long-term planning rather
than relief work. So we have planned 40 fund-raising events to
suit different people,” says spokesperson Hassan Awada.
Since most donors are likely to respond to an occasion,
organisations gear for that. For instance, during Ramadan, when
charity tops most people’s list of things to do, organisations in
the region focus on awareness-building programmes. The UAE’s
Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department gets ready
to announce lists of charities approved by it and educates people
about procedures of holding a charity event.
“The difference during Ramadan is that people approach you
for giving. They are looking for someone… A lot of people would
like to donate. It is our job to show them how,” Habib says.
Alzubaidi says, “Last year during Ramadan, we had sent more
than $200,000 from Qatar to Palestine. Even if we do not have a
project in the country you want to donate in, we will put you in
touch with others who do, or get a report within two days.”
DHAC is planning a programme for donors soon. “People want
to diversify aid. In about a year, we will have a donor assistance
department where people can discreetly check for projects, sort
them by country gender and age,” says Castek.

ABDULAZIZ’S STORY nothing. I was in a camp where there

were 100,000 people.
Showing what a charity organisation “We live comfortably, buy more cars,
can achieve can also change lives. more everything. It is amazing sometimes.
Paul Macleod, WFP

When Abdulaziz Arrukban, a Saudi It is a shame on us.

businessman, visited Darfur, it eventually
led to him becoming the first Saudi
citizen to volunteer to work with the
WFP. He is now Saudi Arabia’s Special
Ambassador to the UN. This is how he
tells his story:
“I gifted my life. But they gifted me
a job. My story is very sad in some
ways, but at the same time it
is very happy. As a chief operating
officer of one of the large corporations
in Riyadh, I was making millions.
Then I went on a visit to Darfur.
Really, there were people who had
Abdulaziz in Cambodia,
making friends with the world
“I came back in December and I came
and spoke to my company. They asked
me if I wanted more money, or if I had
been offered another position. I asked if
they would relieve me for a year. Since
then I have been working for WFP for
one dollar a year.”
Being an ambassador for an organisa-
tion that asks you to pledge your des-
sert is not very different from being a
businessman, Arrukban says.
Networking helps too, just like in the
real world. “It is true that I had to work
hard to introduce WFP better to Saudi

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 Charity programmes are themed. During festival, the mood
can be decidedly celebratory. “Around Ramadan and Christmas
we once started a project called Donate a Dessert. The price of
your dessert can feed a child for one month,” she says.
On the other hand, emergencies, compelling images and
slogans, backed with information about a world in need can
always nudge a response. When there is a crisis, such as Lebanon,
the world opens up its hearts and coffers. Aid comes pouring
in. Amounts get larger and larger and everyone wants to
be part of the solution. With Lebanon in focus, UAE
President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
announced the disbursal of $20m for medical
supplies and urgent relief materials. Tecom Investments
followed up their initial “dirham for dirham” effort with a
community campaign in cooperation with the UAE Red
Crescent Society (RCS).
Abdullatif Almulla, Chief Executive Officer, Tecom
Investments, says: “In the dirham for dirham initiative. The staff
contribution of AED46,970 was doubled by the management to
take the total to AED93,940. The amount has been wired to the
UAE Red Crescent’s bank account.”
Jordan’s Queen Rania is actively involved in philanthropy
The UAE Chapter of Young Arab Leaders, a network of
men and women who have reached unprecedented levels of
success at relatively young ages, aligned themselves with the Souq.com, the Middle East’s leading auction website, is
UAE Lebanese Friendship Committee and gathered more than hosting charity auctions for items donated by its members in
130 tonnes of relief material. Items included food and canned the UAE and Jordan. “We will also arrange to pick up the item
children’s milk in addition to blankets, tents and other basic that you want to auction from any location that you specify. The
needs to support the displaced people. company will also waive its fees,” a spokesperson says. >

Paul Macleod, WFP

Arabia but it is a perfect match to start
with,” he says.
“I am doing exactly what I used to do. I
still make money – make millions in fact.
But it is for other people.
“I still have a jet-setting lifestyle. I
call it a good day if I have breakfast in
Tanzania, lunched in Rwanda and dined
in Nairobi. And I still make millions.
Only, it is for other people. It is my duty
to make money now.
“In my new job, from last December
to this August, I have made $42m,”
Arrukban says.
Like all true believers in the power
of charity, he believes in a world
without borders. “It is not about
religion, it is about helping another
human being.”
And there is no going back. “Probably
I will continue doing what I am doing
now. You cannot change the world. But
at least you can make a difference.”
Children also learn to be heirs to a
charity empire. “My youngest son was
born when I was in Cambodia. That day
I adopted 14,750 children from the slums
there. When you see them you realise
how privileged you are. Those children,
they would pick food from the dumps,
they did not know where their next meal
would come from. God knows where parents to AIDS. I want my son to stay
they sleep. They are also my family now. with him, sleep in the same bed, play with
“I am taking my older son to Rwanda to him, eat with him – be as comfortable
be a little ambassador. It was a pilot project with him as he is with computers
and you cannot take someone else’s child in his class.”
for this. I want him to see other children. Abdulaziz Arrukban, may his
There was a child who has lost both his tribe increase.

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 m i l l i o n a i r e PA S S I O N & P O W E R

“Around Ramadan and old victim of Israeli bombing, who kept asking for her father
while lying on a hospital bed.
Christmas we once started But what next?

a project called ‘Donate a LET’S TALK CHARITY

“We need to sustain the person’s interest by showing them
Dessert’. The price of your what is happening. There is always an emergency. After a crisis,
depending on the size of the problem, it takes many years for
dessert can feed a child for people’s lives to come back on track. But if the TV stations are not
one month” there, people think it
is over,” Habib says.
When well-known
When Arab Media Group (AMG) sponsored a 10-hour live faces do come
telethon across its entire radio and television network, the first forward, they become
donation came in the first few minutes. Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, ambassadors for the
Deputy Director of Mashreqbank, pledged AED5m. This was cause. When Saudi
followed by a AED1m donation from businessman Ahmad Prince Alwaleed
Abdullah Al Shaafar, while Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan bin Talal Al Saud,
Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, donated AED100,000. the world’s eighth-
Coordinated with the support of Sheikh Mohammed bin richest man by Forbes
Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Foundation and magazine’s reckoning,
the UAE Chapter of RCS, the live campaign initiated by Dubai recently pledged $1m,
Media Incorporated generated nearly AED49m in pledges. And he followed up his
that is only one campaign. donation with a visit Barbara Castek
Many were responding to the image of Huwaida, an eight-year- to the areas in Kenya

Peter Dalglish
Peter Dalglish was a newly appointed
lawyer for a top law firm in Canada
‘I wish I was doing when he had what he calls “a near-life
experience”.
what you do’ “I went to Ethiopia with the intention
of staying two weeks to distribute food
and medical supplies. These two weeks
changed my perspective on life — I
realised that the world probably did not
need another lawyer, so I returned to
Canada and handed in my resignation.”
Today, more than 20 years later, the
founder of Street Kids International and
many other foundations says his day job
is “the best I could have ever asked for
– I teach a weekly class as a volunteer at
the Shree Mangal Dvip Buddhist School
that educates children of poor, low-caste
Nepalese in Kathmandu, Nepal. In order
to put food on the table for my family,

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where the money was being used. When Her Royal Highness
Princess Haya bint Al Hussein joined WFP as a Goodwill
Ambassador, media flocked to see her interacting with people
for whom starvation is a way of life. Rock star and anti-poverty
campaigner Sir Bob Geldof is huge support for the ones who are
fighting the same battle.
“When we take any group of donors to the field, we can
invite the media, so others can read about it, see it on TV.
When we go somewhere, we can bring pictures with us
– so others and we know these are not only pictures, these are
true things,” Habib says.
During the Lebanon telethon in Dubai, Arab celebrities
appealed for donations on air, including Egyptian actors Adel
Imam, Yusra, Hanan Turk and Diana Haddad, UAE singers
Hussain Jasmi and Mohammad Al Mazem, as well as Middle
East rally champion Mohammad bin Sulayem.
When Sama Dubai TV ran an opinion poll, Queen Rania of
Jordan made an appearance. “Your children are our children; Princess Haya in the field
your wounds are our wounds; your house is our house. Let’s work
together to take the child back to his school, the farmer to his
farm, and the family back to its home,” she said. with WFP for a while when I first went on the field. Nothing
For the ones who have been there, nothing, they say, compares to going and seeing for yourself. People are actually
can take away the poignancy of being face-to-face suffering, it is not just something you see on TV,” Habib says.
with the person to whom you are giving the next meal. When the givers travel to witness the fruits of their giving, it
Even regulars in the world of charity are moved. “I was working can lead to more. “When people go on the field they become >

I travel the world advising schools
and companies on community service,
leadership and social justice. I am also
the senior advisor in Nepal to the Swiss
NGO [non-governmental organisation]
Terres de Hommes on child labour, child
soldiers and street children,” he says,
listing the many offices he holds.
And, of course, he is the envy of his
entire peer group and the pride of his
parents. “I don’t think a week goes by
without a friend’s email saying, ‘I wish I
was doing what you do’. The great thing
now is that my friends, many of whom
are extremely wealthy, call me wanting
to donate their money to an important
cause. I use their money and they use my
connections with various organisations
to help the world’s poorest people – it is
a great partnership.
“My parents are thrilled because they
know I am so happy and that I am making
a true difference to children around the
globe,” Dalglish says.
And being a lawyer – even a former
lawyer – means he can certainly spread
the word. In Dubai, he visited schools run
by Beacon Education to talk about his
gap-year project. “It is offered to students
transitioning from secondary school to
university. Many students from all over
the world take a year off during this time,
to do something ‘different’, something
they would most likely not have the
opportunity to do again. The schools
I work with offer gap-year students the
opportunity to truly give back and to
work one-on-one with impoverished
students. The gap-year students live and
work at the schools where they receive
full board,” he says.
Being wealthy is not always an
advantage, according to Dalglish.
“These kids cannot help that they were
born into wealthy families. It is up to me,
and others like me, to show them that
there is a different path in life than that
of a corner office and a BMW. Even if
my volunteers do not become full-time
advocates, at least I have exposed them
to the realities of life.
“It does not have to be a year, there are
many students from top schools around
the world that take one or two months
over their summer holidays,” he says.
What about the future? “I have an
entire team who support my foundations
based in Canada while I am in Nepal.
They are self-sustaining, and do not need
my constant attention. I am not worried
about the fate of my work at the various
schools in Kathmandu and Bangkok. I
have worked with so many students and
adults over the years that there is no
doubt that I have inspired at least one
person to continue my work.”

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“We tell all our donors to
track the donation. We give
them an audited report on
beneficiaries Then you can
see the results.”
even more supportive. The government of Saudi Arabia started
with one country. Now they are in the Horn of Africa, in Lebanon,
in Palestine… When they tour it, they believe in it more and
more. People are really in need. And we are not just providing
food but building their future as well – building schools, building
roads. You can choose which country to support, which project.
We know money is always needed,” Habib says.
“We only talk about the donation if there is an approval from
the donor. And it is not to brag but to give an example. It shows
others how to show support. Many people who give money also
like to keep it confidential. We try to tell them sometimes that it
is not about showing off but about transparency. It is a religious
belief that you do not brag about what you give. And it is a
personal thing. Sometimes they don’t want people to know, it is
about a conviction to help,” she says.
TRANSPARENT GIVING
All this talk also helps another cause – it answers all
questions about the funds while helping people understand
what actually goes on.
“The organisations have to tell what goes into their overheads
so the donor is clear. Not only is that a criteria for our department
but the donor can also require proof and an audited report about
how the money was spent,” Castek says. It benefits both. “It
works both ways. We like to tell people that the first food they
may have had in weeks comes, if not from a particular individual,
then from, say, the people of Dubai. It is a human bond, to be
able to come to another’s aid,” says Habib.
On the other hand, it keeps the organisations accountable.
“We owe it to the donor to tell them where the money is
going. We give them a report on beneficiaries. It is all a
transparent procedure. We tell all our donors that your donation
should be registered. Track your donation. Then you can see
the results,” she says.
Agencies will tell you in fils-specific terms and percentages
about your donation. WFP proudly says that it uses only seven
per cent of what you give for administration, while UNOPS sets
their expenditure at between five and six per cent.
“All our acitivities are for charity. If there is any money needed
for administration our steering committee members donate it.
So if we have raised two million dollars from an event, all of it
goes to the fund,” says Awada.
A word of caution, though. “There is an error in oversimplifying
overheads. Sometimes you might think that it is being spent
on administration. But if you need to open a school in an area
where there are no roads to deliver the bricks, the costs will go
up. The best answer is to be involved in the process. It is about
being able to decide according to the situation,” Habib adds.
And the involvement is not only monetary. It is about
communication. “You can give expertise and resources. For
instance, if we have a project for opening a school, we might
take help from the donor in finding experts who can design
the curriculum. If that is their area of expertise, they would
immediately be able to solve the problem,” Alzubaidi says.
In the world of good deeds, there is a lot of give and take,
on both sides. n

Dubai Aid and Humanitarian City includes 30 international non-governmental organisations supporting a variety of humanitarian causes ranging
from emergency aid and relief to people with special needs, education, women and children. 
These organisations also accept donations. For information about donation opportunities with DAHC-registered charities, contact the donor
assistance department on +971-4-3680709.
The charities licensed by the UAE’s Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department for fundraising events are:

Al Maktoum Foundation Tel: +971 4 3988668 Fax: +971 4 3984700

Mohammed bin Rashid Charitable Humanitarian Foundation Tel: +971 4 2278777 Fax: +971 4 2276777
Beit Al Khair Society Tel: +971 4 2675555 Fax: +971 4 2670762
Dubai Charity Association Tel: +971 4 2682000 Fax: +971 4 2682292
Dar Maktoum Foundation Tel: +971 4 3523333 Fax: +971 4 3528286
Sultan Khalifa Al Habtoor Charity Tel: +971 4 3523388 Fax: +971 4 3595363
Red Crescent Society Tel: +971 4 2614800 Fax: +971 4 2614900
Al Shifa Charity Establishment Tel: +971 4 3366585 Fax: +971 4 3366550

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