Al-Qalam 
By Al Qalam Reporter
Gift of the Givers Foundation and the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia have signed a joint partnership agreement to spend three million dollars, (about R40.1-million) on social and health empowerment projects to assist poor families in Gaza.
Adil Alsharif, the advisor to the President of the Islamic Development Bank (for Palestine Trust Funds) and Dr. Imtiaz Sulaiman, Head of Gift of the Givers Foundation, signed the joint grant agreement in the presence Dr Bandar bin Mohammed Hamza Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank and Themba Rubushe, the South African Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah. The agreement was signed this Monday at the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank.
The project is aimed at empowering more than 2 000 poor Palestinian families.
The monies – to be spent over three years – will go towards financing medical operations, improving the lives of disabled persons or people with special needs that would include physiotherapy, rehabilitation, provision of prosthetic limbs, care, medication, psychological integration and rehabilitation.
This agreement is considered the first of its kind between the Islamic Development Bank and the Gift of Givers Foundation to support the development goals in Palestine.
Mohammed Hamza Hajjar expressed the Bank’s readiness for further cooperation and partnership with civil society institutions. He spoke about “the remarkable effectiveness and great social impact” of the projects and programs implemented by the Bank for the benefit of the Palestinian people.
He praised “the role of all donors who trust the Islamic Development Bank to help improve the livelihoods and conditions of Palestinians through sustainable human development to enhance human capital and social cohesion.”
Meanwhile, Sulaiman expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the bank for signing the Memorandum of Understanding and for its commitment to support the empowerment of the needy Gazan people.
