'Mobile-Aid' launched in the UAE

Launched at a special Iftar, sponsored by the One&Only Royal Mirage, every mobile phone user in the UAE can now take part in the charity drive by simply sending an SMS message to 4324, the designated number for Dubai charities, or 4326 for Sharjah Charity International.

The mobile phone user will then automatically receive an acknowledgement message and the Dhs10 will be charged to their mobile phone account or deducted from their pre-paid card. All the money, minus Etisalat charges, is then forwarded by Etisalat directly into the bank accounts of the charities.

Fully audited by PriceWaterhouse Coopers, and overseen by an independent Board of Directors, 'Mobile-Aid' is the brainchild of a UAE businessman, Tariq Qureishy, whose portfolio of businesses in the mobile media and telecoms sector, has opened doors for the campaign.

"For a long time charities have been seeking a way to attract micro-donations by a simple, fast and effective method and this is exactly what Mobile-Aid will offer," said Tariq Qureishy, adding that Mobile-Aid is a non-profit making organization that lends its services and technology completely free of charge to registered charities.

"It is our objective to try and raise Dhs10 million for Dubai charities and Dhs10 million for Sharjah Charity International by November 2004," continued Qureishy. "With 2.5 million mobile phone users in the UAE, it just needs the majority of those people to donate just Dhs10 once or twice a year and Dhs20 million becomes a real and feasible possibility.

"To ensure fairness, different charities from Dubai will be chosen at the end of each quarter," exlained Qureishy. He added that the number for the Abu Dhabi charity would be would be announced shortly.

"In addition, we have appointed PriceWaterhouse Coopers who will verify and audit all accounts received from Etisalat and produce a report for the Board on a quarterly basis. These accounts will also be available for public view."

Whilst this is a UAE first for Mobile-Aid, it did undergo a trial run earlier this year in Pakistan.

"It was an appeal for Imran Khan's Hospital in Lahore," said Tariq Qureishy. "We launched the appeal on ARY Digital TV in Dubai and within 24 hours, over 50,000 people responded! It was a huge success and the hospital has already pledged its full support for our UAE campaign."

The launch does coincide with the Holy Month of Ramadan, a fact Qureishy hopes will help kick-start the campaign.

"It is a traditional time of giving and helping those less fortunate and because this concept is so simple, we hope people will donate regularly throughout the month and beyond," he said.

There is no limit to how many times people wish to donate, but only Dhs10 will be acknowledged at a time.