due to its geographical location, the generosity of some wealthy citizens, the circumstances of its establishment, and the diverse people who have settled in and considered it their homeland, kuwait has been particularly generous in responding to the needs of the less fortunate.
with the emergence of the oil era, kuwait became a hub for charity societies. the number of such societies in kuwait is higher than in any other country when compared to its population.
it is undeniable that many of the founders or leaders of these societies, who still hold positions of authority, have accumulated enormous wealth for themselves, their families, and even their political-religious affiliations. a scholar and preacher once described them as “fashionistas.”
the month of ramadan is considered the best opportunity for beggars and most charity societies to collect the largest amount of donations, which in turn leads to an increase in fraudulent activities, along with the honorable and sincere individuals working in the charitable sector. only a few are driven solely by the desire to help the needy without seeking personal gain. it was encouraging to see the government’s announcement calling for individuals to report beggars. i hope the news is true!
in this regard, the egyptian writer abdul khaliq farouk penned an article in which he said, “we see emotional heartbreaking advertisements that bring tears to the eyes, and make you feel that the egyptian people are divided into three categories: cancer patients, the needy, and the homeless, all in urgent need of donations.
however, you will be surprised to learn that the cost of a 30-second commercial on an arab tv channel, especially during ramadan, is 150 million pounds, and the cost on less famous channels is no less than 120 million pounds. and you will shake your head in disbelief. but you will swallow your surprise when you find out that the total value of egyptians’ donations last ramadan amounted to four and a half billion pounds!”
it’s a huge pie that “hyenas” compete for, fight over, and rush to grab, all by exploiting the kindness and love of people to help the needy, and taking advantage of the weak culture of collective charitable work among egyptians in general.
last year, 15.8 million families out of 18.4 million egyptian families (86 percent) donated a total of 4.5 billion pounds. this year, donations are expected to increase by almost half to reach roughly seven billion pounds. however, the problem is that 55 percent of the donations made via text messages are deducted by the telecommunications company and the tv channel that owns the advertisement. only 45 percent of the collected donations actually reach the beneficiaries.
raising awareness could help cut off the corruption networks that involve communication, media, and religious institutions, which often oversee these charitable activities. the key is for each donor to personally search for those in need and deliver the donations directly to them.
the problem is that this is not an easy process and, of course, is nearly impossible to implement. if it were that simple, there wouldn’t be a single charity in the world. reaching those in need is a very difficult task.
the ministry of social affairs has allocated a website for the needy to apply for assistance, which will allow charitable organizations to access these requests. this is a positive step that deserves praise, despite its serious shortcomings. it seems that the flaws in this system have affected the majority of charitable organizations, donors, and most importantly, the needy, including those facing serious circumstances, patients, prisoners, non-kuwaitis, and especially the poorest segments of society. unfortunately, the ministry’s system has tragically deprived them of receiving aid. perhaps this is a subject for another article.