Tag: telethon

Telethon planned to raise funds for Nepal earthquake relief

Maldives media are preparing for a telethon on Saturday to raise funds for earthquake relief in Nepal.

The telethon – organized by the Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC) and the Maldives Medical Association – will begin at 12:30pm and run till 6pm. The MRC is also organizing a football match in Malé at 4:15pm on Saturday to raise funds.

Nepal was hit by a second major earthquake on May 12, two weeks after the devastating earthquake in which more than 8000 people were killed.

The estimated damage could cost billions, aid agencies have said.

President Abdulla Yameen has pledged US$50,000 for the relief effort, and the Maldives Police Services and the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital have also pledged to donate.

The Maldives raised US$1.9million to help Palestinians who lost their homes in the Israeli offensive in Gaza last year.

The International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) has completed 100 housing units in Gaza with the US$1.9 million raised by the Maldivian media

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Maldivians to take Gaza fundraising efforts to new heights

Maldivian efforts to assist the people of Palestine will culminate in an unprecedented 33 hour telethon aired across multiple participating broadcasters.

Numerous media organisation have initiated a telethon titled ‘I will also help’ to raise funds for victims of the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. It will air from 2:30pm on Friday (August 8).

The organisers will also assist in arranging a joining of hands across the capital Malé at 5pm on Saturday, while the fundraising – with over US$350,000 already in the Help Gaza Fund – is set to grow as both state and private companies urge staff to donate wages to the fund.

All TV channels and radio stations taking part in the telethon will air the same live program with content – produced by a joint content committee – on the current situation in Gaza to be broadcast through out the programme.

Live updates of donations and details of fundraising and solidarity events organised by councils and NGOs across the country will also feature.

Solidarity

This week Maldives Customs Service and Maldives Ports Limited jointly opened a joint fund where employees of both institutions agreed to donate one day’s basic salary. Faafu Atoll Hospital has also decided to join this campaign.

In addition to one day salaries of their employees, newspaper Haveeru has decided to donate the total revenue generated in advertisement on their online and print news this Thursday (August 7). The paper hopes that this will allow people to donate by placing advertisements on the paper as well.

The state owned State Trading Organization (STO) has announced it will donate a percentage of its two major shops’ sales on on August 8 and 9, five percent from STO Home Improvement, and two percent from STO Super Mart.

STO is also coordinating with the media telethon group for the joining of hands event during which people will stand holding hands across Boduthakurufaanu Magu in Malé starting from the tsunami monument.

Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, an organiser and President of the Maldives Journalism Association, requested everyone dresses in black for the event to show that “we are taking part in their sorrow”.

“Remember how we felt when the tsunami hit the Maldives and how we requested foreign aid? Now our brothers and sisters in a situation where they need our help. I request everyone to donate to the best of their ability for this cause,” he said.

The telethon group is also selling fifteen ‘Help Gaza’ t-shirts for MVR100,000 each. Two have already been booked – one by the STO for President Abdulla Yameen and another by Kooddoo Fisheries Maldives Limited for the first lady.4

Joining of funds

After the Adhaalath Party endorsed the telethon, both parties have agreed to join their funds, with the party’s Help Gaza Fund being pooled with the telethon collection from Friday.

The Help Gaza Fund has received over MVR5.48million (US$355,600), the party said today. Collection of funds is on halt for now and will begin again with the the telethon on Friday, explained an Adhaalath spokesperson.

The donations from the joint fund will be handed over to the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) – chosen because they have worked with Adhaalath in previous fund raising events such as the 2010 Pakistan Relief Fund to help flood victims and the 2009 Gaza Fund.

QRCS has assured that these fund will reach the people of Gaza in the form of food and medicine through their relief efforts in area.

Meanwhile, the Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC) are also raising funds in response to an emergency appeal for US$14.7 million by the Palestine Red Crescent Society on July 14. The MRC Palestine Relief Fund was established on July 20 will continue collecting until August 15.

Funds will be raised through MRC Emergency Relief Fund bank accounts, donation boxes and door-to-door collection across the country.

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Maldives media initiates ‘Help Gaza’ telethon

Media outlets in the Maldives have initiated a telethon to raise funds for the ‘Help Gaza’ fund.

The telethon will start on Friday at 2:30pm and continue until midnight on Saturday.

The ‘I will also help’ telethon has called on state employees and private companies to donate a day’s wages to the fund.

The Maldives Customs Services, Maldives Ports Limited and Faafu Atoll Hospital have pledged to donate a day’s wages from all employees to the fund.

Over MVR5 million (US$ 323,624) has now been collected from private donations since the fund was established on July 17.

Raa Atoll Kinolhas Island with a population of 360 people alone has donated MVR 52,623 to the fund in four days.

Meanwhile, the Help Gaza collection fund on Baa Atoll Maalhos Island was stolen on Sunday. According to the island council, approximately MVR10,000 had been collected when the box was stolen.

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