Muscat – Al Rahma Association for Maternity and Child Care’s Al Khair Waafi Initiative on Sunday announced that it is seeking donations to construct a residential and commercial building – with the aim of using its income to fulfil the needs of the orphans in Oman on a permanent basis.

The Al Khair Waafi team started fund raising initiatives in 2018. In 2019, funds were raised to provide school clothes during Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha for orphans in different wilayats in the sultanate.

After the success of the 2018 and 2019 editions of the initiative, the team came together in 2020 in efforts to construct a commercial building so that its monthly proceeds could be used to serve several programmes directed towards helping as many as 1,600 orphans registered with Al Rahma Association.

The Al Khair Waafi Initiative 2022 aims to construct a charitable building (residential and commercial) on land obtained by the association from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in Mawaleh.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the 2022 initiative, Sana al Khanjary, general manager of Al Rahma Association, said, “This initiative comes from the belief of the association in providing support to the needs of orphans through voluntary efforts in our dear country.

“We look forward to donations from everyone – private, government sector and philanthropists – in order to construct the building.

“The idea of the Al Khair Waafi Initiative came from a group of Omani women entrepreneurs who have experience and successful business careers.”

Areej Mohsin Darwish, a member of the initiative, said, “We already have RO300,000 and plan to raise RO300,000 more. There are many ways in which one can contribute to the building. Donations can be made to the initiative by purchasing coupons worth RO5 and RO25. The coupons are being sold at Mall of Muscat, City Centre Muscat, Al Araimi Boulevard and Muscat Grand Mall from March 10 to March 25.”

An exhibition of small and medium enterprises will be held on March 26, proceeds of which will go to the Al Khair Waafi Initiative.