(Photo from Al-Borsa News)
By Hossam Mounier
Charitable foundations in Egypt are seeing a higher demand in charitable donations in the first days of Ramadan, according to a survey conducted by Daily News Egypt.
Amongst the charities competing for donations are the Misr El Kheir Foundation, Resala, Dar Alorman, the Magdy Yacoub Heart Foundation, 57357 Hospital which focuses on cancer care, the new and old National Cancer Institute, The Egyptian Food Bank, Ma’an for Developing Slums, and Wahed Men El-Nas Foundation.
Donations can be received through the charities’ bank accounts in the local market, which are receiving donations from inside and outside Egypt. Some foundations have accounts with the National Postal Authority, with donations also received through the Fawry network. Some charities also send representatives to donators in their place of residence to collect the donations.
“Misr El Kheir Foundation, Magdy Yacoub Heart Foundation, and 57357 Hospital come on top of the foundations that receive donations from citizens, obtaining the biggest share among them,” according to Abd El-Rahman Abd El-Baset, Head of Central Operations at the Housing and Development Bank, which receives donations for many charitable organisations.
Abd El-Baset clarified that the banks open accounts free of charge for the charitable organisations, as a contribution to support them in their good work.
He added that the demand for donating to charity usually increases significantly every year in Ramadan, and decreases during the rest of the year.
“The banks do not have any authority to monitor the spending operations of these accounts; however, the foundations owning them are subject to strict supervision by the Ministry of Social Solidarity. Moreover, they have a special law controlling their activity,” according to Abd El-Baset.
Abd El-Baset clarified that the bodies monitoring these foundations’ work usually ask for a statement of accounts from the banks to revise them.
He added that the banks register all the donators’ data, and transfer their donations immediately to the accounts of the foundations they donate for.
