Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam visiting the Egyptian Red Crescent headquarters while on his state visit to Cairo on Sept 21. - Photo: Lianhe Zaobao
CAIRO: children whose lives have been upended by the conflict in Gaza will be able to continue with their education, with funds to procure a mobile education unit in the latest tranche of donations from Singapore.
The Singapore Red Cross said on Sunday (Sept 21) it had handed over about S$1.2 million worth of aid to the Egyptian Red Crescent in its latest set of donations to assist in the crisis, including S$440,000 worth of tents and S$758,000 in funds for essential medical and educational services for Palestinian evacuees in Egypt.
The donations are for medical consumables and equipment, benefiting about 4,000 evacuees and their companions, as well as for a mobile education unit to serve around 2,000 Palestinian children in 11 accommodation centres managed by the Egyptian Red Crescent.
This forms Singapore’s 10th tranche of humanitarian assistance for affected civilians in Gaza, bringing the total support from Singapore to $23.3 million.
On Sept 21, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited the Egyptian Red Crescent headquarters while on his state visit to Cairo and witnessed the symbolic handover of donations from the Singapore Red Cross.
He is the first head of state from any nation to visit the Egyptian Red Crescent, which has been coordinating humanitarian aid from various organisations crossing from Egypt into Gaza since the escalation of conflict.
During his visit, President Tharman and his spouse, Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, were also taken by Dr Amal Emam, chief executive of the Egyptian Red Crescent, to a mock-up of the tents donated by the Singapore Red Cross.
They also saw a packing centre, where food items like oil, stuffed grape leaves and cheese were being boxed.
Speaking to the Singaporean media covering the state visit, Dr Amal said the mobile education unit funded by the donations from Singapore will go to areas where medically evacuated Palestinians from Gaza are receiving treatment in Egypt.
She said: “Through this mobile educational unit, we will not only provide food and shelter as it used to be, but also, we will support children, especially aged between five and 18, to receive some of the educational opportunities and learning opportunities that they have been driven from in the last two years.”
Dean and group director of the Singapore Red Cross Academy, Sahari Ani, who is also in Cairo, said the need for a mobile education unit was something raised to them by their counterparts in the Egyptian Red Crescent.
He said the unit will provide non-formal education, including life skills, to children to return them to a sense of normalcy.
“This protracted type of uncertainty can have a certain impact on the psychological well-being (of those affected),” he said.
He added that the tents that are being supplied will be of importance as the weather in Gaza will turn cold in the coming months.
Dr Amal said that since the escalation of the conflict, it was important to discuss the urgent needs of the people in Gaza with organisations like the Singapore Red Cross.
She said: “With the continuous assessment of all of these needs, it was clear that the food supply, the items related to shelter and also everything related to medical consumables are among the very needed items there in Gaza, taking into consideration the fact that the people there have been on the move and displaced several times from their own places over the past two years.”
She said while the aid being sent to Gaza is a “drop in the ocean” considering the immense needs there, every demonstration of support is deemed to be big, and “that’s why we appreciate and recognise the support coming from Singapore”. - The Straits Times/ANN
