Ashraf AboArafe
Rabat, January 18, 2023
The Bayt Mal Al-Qods Agency provided development aid worth $64 million between 2000 and 2022 to various sectors in the holy city of Jerusalem, according to a recent report.
The report, launched during a press conference on Wednesday January 18, 2023 on the occasion of the agency’s 25th anniversary, said that the Kingdom of Morocco contributed $16.7 million of the overall contributions of member states of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee.
The report, which was presented by Dr. Mohamed Salem Echarkaoui, Director of the agency, stated that the social assistance, culture, youth, and sports sectors accounted for about 60% of the agency’s expenditures, in implementation of the directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee, who had called for prioritizing this sector.
Echarkaoui noted that the Al Aych Al Kareem (Decent Living) Program, which targets poor families in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, distributes 29,000 loaves of bread daily to about 2,900 families, and creates an important economic cycle that benefits 20 bakeries.
The report also said that the “Kafalat Al-Yateem (Orphan Sponsorship) Program” sponsors 100 Jerusalemite orphans, while 650 boys and girls benefited from the “summer camps program for Jerusalemite children in Morocco,” in addition to the beneficiaries of the “Summer camps for the benefit of Al-Quds children program,” which is funded by the agency in partnership with Jerusalemite charities, and in cooperation with the Directorate of Education in Jerusalem.
Moreover, the report pointed out that the “Civil Initiatives for a Sustainable Human Development Program in Al-Quds” is interested in financing charities’ projects in the fields of vocations, training, women’s empowerment, income-generating projects, capacity support, and community integration.
It indicated that the agency has implemented other social projects such as restoring, rehabilitating and equipping sports clubs and cultural centers, distributing food parcels during the holy month of Ramadan and religious occasions, in addition to supporting and financing the revolving loan program for building and restoring housing, rehabilitating the homes of the poor and marginalized groups, and restoring mosques and the Moroccan Zaouia.
The report stated that the agency has completed several projects in the education sector that accounted for about 20% of its budget, which included the construction of 4 new schools and the repair and restoration of 10 others. Additionally, the scholarship program for Jerusalemite students provides annual scholarships in the field of higher education for the benefit of outstanding and poor Jerusalemite students to pursue their studies in Palestine, Morocco or other universities, worth $2,000 for literary majors and $3,000 for medicine and engineering majors.
In the healthcare sector, the report indicated that the agency supported hospitals in Jerusalem by purchasing ambulances, devices and equipments to help perform their duties, in addition to rehabilitating and restoring some hospitals, and establishing medical units and departments in hospitals in various specialties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency also provided hospitals with the necessary supplies to help address the pandemic.
The Bayt Mal Al-Qods Agency is a social humanitarian institution that was established in 1995 by the late King Hassan II, beginning its official work in 1998. The agency works, under the direct supervision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee, to implement social projects in Jerusalem to protect the holy city, preserve its religious and cultural heritage, and support its residents. Its projects are distributed among the sectors of education, health, housing, culture, sports, women’s empowerment, youth and childhood care, as well as social assistance programs for people in difficult situations and people with special needs.
