Transparency in charities

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A few days ago, colleague Badr Al-Bahr wrote an article and thanked me as chairman of the Human Friendship Society for the efforts exerted by the Society’s Board of Directors and its unprecedented transparency in its work, as well as the fact that no members of the Board of Directors, or any officials either employees or volunteers sue part of the money for themselves and how the Society has established binding provisions stating that no employees of the Society or any of its members or the board of directors shall be entitled to make any profit or benefit from any donations in any way.

Al-Bahr called on all charities to follow the example of the Human Friendship Society, and I consider his call a challenge in the 131-step journey, which is the number of charities in Kuwait which must declare that they take our society as a model to follow and announce their rejection of any deductions from donations to any of them.

Last Thursday, March 28, the Al-Qabas published two positive responses, the first from Abdul-Ellah Ma’arafi, the Chairman of Mohammad Rafie Ma’arafi Charity, and the other from Adel Issa Al-Yousefi, Chairman of Issa Al-Yousefi Charitable Organization, stating that the two societies do not deduct any amounts, which they have allocated for charity or donated by others, or any proportion to themselves, or to any of the workers in the two societies other than the salaries of employees of course.

It is the responsibility of all of us, as donors or as supervisors of charities to maintain the highest degree of transparency with regard to the financial issues of charities whose reputations were questioned and some of them have dubious roles in the financing of terrorism, and some of their senior officials have accumulated wealth for themselves and today they enjoy what they have taken from the funds of benevolent donors.

We take this opportunity to announce to all citizens and residents that we at the Kuwait Human Friendship Society have provided medical care for a number of disabled people. In cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, we also managed to cover the cost of purchasing tickets for a number of expatriates who had been sentenced for deportation and did not have the money to buy tickets to their home countries.

In this regard, we would like to thank Zeid Al-Khubaizi, General Manager of Al-Ghanim Travel, who is credited with facilitating the travel of these people to their countries and their families by granting special discounts to the Society.

Let us not forget to thank Colonel Walid Al-Ali of the Ministry of Interior, who facilitated the travel of these unfortunate deportees.

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By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

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