His Excellency Mohammed Rashid Ibn Bayat, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, confirmed that SCI has a long record of taking positions that highlight its impact in the face of crises, embodying social responsibility in its finest forms.
Ibn Bayat said that in light of the air depression crisis that affected the eastern region recently, SCI teams were among the first on the front line to provide support to those affected by the air depression, as more than 9,000 meals were distributed to women, children and affected families. SCI coordinated with the Emergency Housing Committee to maintain of a number of homes for families whose homes were affected by the rains, while distributing heavy blankets to the affected families during their stay in emergency housing and distributing special health supplies for children.
Ibn Bayat extended his sincere thanks to all the supporters, participants and collaborators in supporting the efforts made by all concerned and participating parties.
Ibn Bayat continued by saying that SCI had prominent roles in dealing with events until life returned to normal. Ibn Bayat said that following the floods that caused severe damage to several homes in the eastern and central regions, SCI contributed in cooperation with the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, and other parties concerned with providing support to those affected, took care of housing them and providing all their living needs, in addition to financial aid, maintenance, restoration, and furnishing of the damaged homes so that they could return again to their normal lives.
Ibn Bayat continued that following the floods in Al Dhaid during 2016 that caused great damage to the residents, SCI took the initiative to provide support to more than 20 affected families, where aid was distributed, including food supplies, clothes, and shoes, in addition to heavy blankets.
Ibn Bayat added that in a tragic incident that affected an afflicted family, a mother and her daughter were lost in a house fire that occurred in her residence in the Emirate of Sharjah in 2018. SCI rushed to provide financial assistance and alternative housing in one of the hotel apartments in Sharjah until the procedures for renting and furnishing a shelter for them were completed, to replace what was destroyed by the fire.
Ibn Bayat added that before the end of the first quarter of 2017, specifically in March, a fire broke out in one of the workers’ residential caravans in Khor Kalba, which caused losses and damage to the workers. As a result, SCI quickly formed a relief team from the employees of its branch in Kalba, to determine the numbers of those affected by the fire, studying their conditions, and the extent of the damage they suffered. Relief materials were purchased, which included meals, clothing, and blankets, and distributed to all those affected, whose numbers reached about 100 workers, as it served as a lifeline for them after their belongings were exposed to the fire and damage. In another incident of a fire that broke out in a warehouse in Dibba Al Hisn, SCI did not hesitate to participate with the civil defense services in the city of Dibba Al Hisn in firefighting operations and to provide the necessary support.
In a related context, SCI teams intervened to support those affected by the fire at the EPPCO Tower in Al Nahda area in Sharjah, which was exposed to a fire in 2020. All necessary measures were immediately taken to provide all forms of support to those affected by the fire, which caused deteriorating conditions for a large number of residents whose homes were destroyed by fire. Ibn Bayat pointed out that a work team was formed by SCI, which in turn was present to stand by these families and provide urgent assistance, and coordination was made with a number of hotels to provide temporary shelter for them and their families whose number reached 650 beneficiaries. SCI sponsored the families’ accommodation expenses with the aim of assisting them and providing a decent life in light of the circumstance they were exposed to, including the burning of their home and the loss of their belongings, in addition to providing healthcare through coordination with the Emirati European Hospital, which completed medical examinations for the families in their temporary residence and provided medicines for medical cases. Overall, the aid provided to those affected by the tower was estimated at a value of one million dirhams, including sponsoring temporary residential rentals, which included 285 rooms over the course of a full month, in addition to providing 18,088 meals, and disbursing financial support to enable families to provide for their living needs.
In the midst of the Corona pandemic that ravaged the entire world, the UAE was exposed to an exceptional situation, as it imposed a number of restrictions in order to contain the pandemic and confront the risk of its spread, and in this regard, SCI played prominent roles from the first moment of the crisis, estimated at more than 15 million dirhams, as School students from needy families were accommodated by providing computers to benefit from the distance learning initiative provided by the competent authorities in line with the precautionary measures that were taken.
A package of food supplies was also distributed to the affected families and workers whose finiancial conditions were affected by the crisis. SCI distributed meals daily to university students who were unable to travel to their country, in addition to relieving the distress of a number of inmates in financial distress cases since the beginning of the crisis, in cooperation with the competent authorities in Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain Police, in addition to supporting the first defense teams as well as the injured who are in quarantine.
The Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors continued his speech by saying, “Before the end of the year 2021, specifically during the month of September, and through cooperation programmes between SCI and Sharjah Police General Command (SPGC), was able to provide travel tickets for 12 people of Colombian and Brazilian nationalities, who were separated. They had no means of returning to their countries after their money ran out, which prompted SCI to provide them with travel tickets so that they could return to their homelands.
In a similar incident that occurred during the year 2018, 10 people of Russian nationality were on their way to enter Saudi territory to perform Umrah rituals, but they were subjected to harsh conditions, as their entry visas to the Kingdom expired upon their arrival in UAE, so they submitted a request to issue an Umrah visa again, but it the application was rejected by the competent authorities
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not meet the two-month requirement for expired visas, so they were unable to move, and they stayed inside their bus for quite a while. When their news reached SCI, the Society took the initiative to provide relief to them by providing suitable accommodation and addressing one of the Hajj and Umrah campaigns to obtain visas for them. Visas were issued for all of them, and hotels were reserved to stay close to the Haram in Mecca and Medina, and each of them was given a personal allowance sufficient for their needs during the trip. This initiative had a great impact on their hearts.
Muhammad bin Bayat pointed out that all these events demonstrate SCI readiness to support and provide rapid support to those who deserve it, stressing that all work teams are in a state of constant alert to carry out the roles assigned to them in accordance with the work policy, mission of the association and its humanitarian goals, based on the high directives of our wise leadership and in accordance with the principle social responsibility to serve the community.
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