(From right to left) Fawaz Al-Khalidi, Private Sector Partnerships Officer in Kuwait, Dr. Majed Al-Azmi, Director General of Zakat House of Kuwait and UNHCR Patron, Khaled Khalifa, Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner for Islamic Philanthropy and UNHCR's Representative to the GCC countries, and Nader Al-Nakib, UNHCR's Chief of Private Sector Partnerships in MENA, and Nisreen Rubaian, UNHCR's Representative in Kuwait. ©UNHCR/ Khaled Kabbara
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Kuwait, today named Dr. Majed Al-Azmi, Director General of Zakat House of Kuwait, a Patron in recognition of the awareness-raising efforts and generous contributions of Zakat House to UNHCR’s humanitarian responses over the past five years.
A Patron is an honorary title given to those who support UNHCR and forcibly displaced people by dedicating time to raise awareness about the challenges they face, and the efforts invested to overcome them. Additionally, to encourage engagement, support, and help raise funds for UNHCR’s life-saving work.
Dr. Al-Azmi was assigned the title “UNHCR Patron” with the attendance of concerned governmental representatives, major partners, and high-profile supporters.
Through its partnership with UNHCR, the Zakat House of Kuwait provided support to more than 50,000 vulnerable families, both refugees and internally displaced people in Bangladesh, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Mauritania. The Zakat House Director General, Dr. Majed Al-Azmi, was key in mobilizing support from charitable organizations in Kuwait and the region through UNHCR’s Islamic Philanthropy initiatives.
Upon receiving his UNHCR Patron title, Dr. Majed Al-Azmi expressed his appreciation for the partnership with UNHCR, and said: “We consider partnerships with humanitarian organizations and foundations, such as UNHCR, among the most important partnerships.” He added: “We at the Zakat House seek to ensure integration of efforts to achieving our common goal and enforcing social development and progress in the humanitarian field.”
UNHCR’s Representative in Kuwait, Nisreen Rubaian, noted the importance of Zakat House’s support to UNHCR, and stated: “One of the main indicators of the development of societies in our time is institutional charitable work, and we have seen the importance of Zakat, which is a key pillar of charitable work in Kuwaiti society in light of the forced displacement of more than 110 million people around the world. Our partners such as Zakat House have a major role in better implementation of the humanitarian response, as it contributed with its tangible support to UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund, due to the excessive number of humanitarian crises and the increasing amount of challenges that we face as a mandated international refugee agency”.
Nisreen Rubaian, UNHCR's Representative in Kuwait hands over an appreciation trophy to Bader Al-Mutairi, Representative of the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, in presence of Khaled Khalifa, Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner for Islamic Philanthropy and UNHCR's Representative to the GCC countries (right), and Nader Al-Nakib, UNHCR's Chief of Private Sector Partnerships in MENA (left). ©UNHCR/ Khaled Kabbara
Dr. Majed Al-Azmi, Director General of Zakat House of Kuwait during his speech in acceptance of his title as "UNHCR Patron". and UNHCR Patron©UNHCR/ Khaled Kabbara
Khaled Khalifa, Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner for Islamic Philanthropy and UNHCR's Representative to the GCC countries during his speech. ©UNHCR/ Khaled Kabbara
Participants of the event. ©UNHCR/ Khaled Kabbara
On his part, UNHCR’s Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner for Refugees for Islamic Philanthropy and Representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Khaled Khalifa, congratulated Dr. Majed Al-Azmi on his appointment and highlighted the critical role of Islamic Philanthropy in improving the lives of forcibly displaced people, and said: “Our partnership with Zakat House of Kuwait plays an important role in advancing our efforts to mobilize support to vulnerable displace people, especially through Islamic social finance tools like UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund.” He added: “We are proud of naming Dr. Majed as Patron and we look forward to continuing our joint efforts to respond to the growing humanitarian needs of forcibly displaced people, of whom 50% come from member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.”
UNHCR’s partnership with Zakat House of Kuwait commenced in May 2000 by signing a memorandum of understanding, which entails providing support for UNHCR humanitarian activities and programs, mainly through its Islamic Philanthropy efforts, which has been identified as an essential growth driver in mobilizing resources through Islamic social finance tools, to foster social solidarity and mobilize support for vulnerable groups.
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