Employees of DHL Express, a leading logistics provider, held donation drives from Morocco to Afghanistan this Ramadan, covering 14 countries across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

The show of solidarity and support for those without regular access to food supplies saw DHL staff engage in a variety of activities including collecting donations, distributing Iftar meals and delivering thousands of boxes containing several kilos of dry food products to underprivileged workers and poor families, said a statement.

In Bahrain, DHL staff engaged in a number of activities including delivering food boxes containing a variety of essential food items to 150 families through the Palm Association, and handing out small meal boxes containing dates and laban at traffic lights during Iftar time so that people caught in traffic can break their fast on their way home.

The staff in Manama also treated orphans to a special treat to mark the holy month, by arranging for Bahrain’s national ice hockey team to skate and interact with the young children at the ice skating rink.

Nour Suliman, chief executive officer - Mena, said: “We are incredibly proud of our colleagues in Bahrain and across the region for their drive and commitment. Giving, compassion and solidarity are some of the main virtues that Ramadan fosters, and I really admire the commitment and dedication shown by the team to lend a hand to those in need.

“It is important to get involved and give back to the community and people around us in any way possible; this is an integral part of our on-going CSR activities that are carried out through the year. We choose to act; we choose to do what we can to make a difference in the lives of people around us and it’s always great to see our staff getting directly involved.”

Across the region DHL staff distributed the food boxes partnering with different NGO’s in each country, this guaranteed that the boxes would reached the right people that truly needed them, said the statement.

In Saudi Arabia, DHL staff in Riyadh, Damam and Jeddah packed and delivered food boxes containing essential food items totalling over 7,000 kilos to poor families. Goods were distributed to the less fortunate in poor neighbourhoods, while priority was given to families with elderly or sick members, and those with children.

In addition, over 3,000 Iftar boxes containing dates and laban were distributed on the streets across the kingdom at Iftar time to help motorists stuck in traffic break their fast.

In the UAE, DHL staff collaborated with Beit Al Khair Society, a charity organisation created to alleviate hardships faced by citizens and provide assistance to those in need.

The staff placed collection boxes for donations towards food boxes at their facilities in Meydan, Jebel Ali and Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport as part of the effort.

In total they distributed 500 boxes containing items such as rice, pasta, lentils and flour, as well as salt, canned foods, tea, cooking oil, dates and juice, which were all carefully chosen to help those who receive them cook nutritious meals for Iftar and Suhoor.

DHL also donated 200 Iftar meals to Beit Al Khair charity tent set up to provide a comfortable venue for people to come and break their fast during the holy month.

In Oman, DHL staff collected, packed and distributed over 300 food boxes which were distributed by the Al Maddah and Al Rahma charity organisations to needy families in the Dakhiliya and Muscat regions respectively.

Meanwhile, in Qatar staff there held a donations and donated the cost of 500 food boxes to be delivered to needy families in Egypt and Jordan.

In Jordan, DHL staff successfully distributed 450 food boxes, 250 of which came courtesy of DHL Qatar, through a well-known charity organisation called Tikeyyet Um Ali, who with the help of other local charities identified poor families who would benefit most from receiving the supplies.

In Kuwait, similar food boxes were delivered and shared amongst 260 underprivileged street labourers and families, while an additional 30 boxes were donated to various disadvantaged homes in other locations across the country.

In Algeria, staff purchased and delivered fresh food to two associations, the Lions Club of Algiers and Saberinnelle, both of which are serving meals to the homeless throughout the holy month of Ramadan. As many as 30 volunteers from DHL helped lend a hand as part of these efforts, and served Iftar to over 300 people over two evenings.

In Egypt, around 11,000 food packages and 250 food boxes donated by DHL Qatar were distributed to needy families across the country in partnership with the Egyptian Food Bank, while DHL staff in Morocco, Mauritania, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan also did their part to deliver boxes of food to poor communities and charities set up to aid the less fortunate in those respective countries.   

The recent campaign comes in line with Deutsche Post DHL corporate responsibility strategy for each individual to act responsibly, and for the company to move to spread positivity in every environment and society in which they operate.

The company focuses on environmental protection (GoGreen), humanitarian assistance (GoHelp) and education (GoTeach) and is an ardent supporter of employee volunteerism (Global Volunteer Day, Living Responsibility Fund). - TradeArabia News Service