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Jelili A Opadijo
doha
THE leadership of the Nigerian community in Qatar has expressed its gratitude to the government of Qatar for providing 500 food vouchers for the members of the community to celebrate a joyous Eid Al-Adha through the ‘Our Eid as One’ initiative.
The initiative is a combined effort of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA), and Qatar Charity (QC).
Commenting on the initiative, Vice-President of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Qatar (NIDO-Qatar) Sharafadeen Oladayo Olayiwola thanked the Qatari government for coming to the aid of the expatriates in the country at this critical time, describing the food package as “a timely gesture that spiced up Eid Al-Adha celebrations for the recipients”.
“The shopping voucher gesture by the government is an extremely helpful intervention to alleviate the economic challenges of residents, especially during this coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic time. It has helped immensely in providing succour to community members, who have either lost their job or not getting paid promptly as a result of reduced economic activities in the country,” he said.
Olayiwola said his organisation and members of his community would continue to make efforts to contribute to the fast-paced developments of the country.
He said, “The beneficiaries of the initiative from Nigerian community are very appreciative of this gesture on the part of Qatar Government. They are eager and encouraged to give back to the society by supporting all government’s programmes, especially those where they can volunteer and offer their skills at no cost.”
NIDO-Qatar Welfare Officer Sixtus Agbo, who handled the delivery of the voucher to the community members in cooperation with NIDO-Qatar Assistant Secretary Lateef Ajibade, said the decentralisation of the distribution points in Al-Meera branches made the collection of the food packages easy and smooth.
“The ability to redeem the vouchers at various Al-Meera branches was another laudable approach of the initiative. This saves the beneficiaries from spending so much on transport to collect their packages as they were able to collect it at Al-Meera outlets closer to them,” Agbo said.
A beneficiary, Adekunle, thanked the Qatari government for always coming to the assistance of the expatriate communities.
He said this is the third time he received such food packages from Qatar and its entities this year, as he had earlier benefited from the COVID-19 palliative packages and Eid Al-Fitr food parcels.
Another recipient, Maryam, said the initiative brought a big relief to her as she quickly redeemed the voucher at Al-Meera in Hyatt Plaza, adding that the package contained basic food items needed in every family.
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07/08/2020
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