JAKARTA — One of Yemen’s humanitarian organizations, Basamat Development Foundation ( مؤسسة بصمات للتنمية ), visited the office of Dompet Dhuafa ( محفظة الضعفاء ) at the Philanthropy Building in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, on Tuesday (September 27, 2022).
Accompanied by the Turkish social organization The Beautiful Impact (جمعية الأثر الجميل), this visit was part of Basamat’s efforts to expand its call for kindness to all people around the world. The non-profit organization, which was established in 2014, acknowledged that Indonesia is a friendly country with a high level of concern for others. Additionally, Dompet Dhuafa has made a positive impression as a model humanitarian organization. During this visit, Zuheyr Ahmet, a representative of the Basamat Development Foundation, invited Dompet Dhuafa to collaborate on humanitarian efforts for the people of Yemen.
According to him, among the many countries facing the highest levels of humanitarian crises and in urgent need of global assistance, Yemen stands out. In Yemen, there are approximately 1,300,000 (one million three hundred thousand) orphaned children, and every ten minutes, a child dies from starvation. There are five (5) critical issues forming the core of the crisis in Yemen. These include food, water, healthcare, shelter, and orphaned children.
“There are five main issues that constitute the crisis in Yemen. These are food, water, healthcare, shelter, and orphaned children. We hope to create a program to address these issues,” he said during a discussion with the Dompet Dhuafa team.
Social Partnership Dompet Dhuafa Agung Chilmy Firdana welcomed the visit and discussion. Responding to Dompet Dhuafa’s social action in Yemen, Agung said that Dompet Dhuafa had recently (in 2021) established a partnership with UNICEF to collect funds from the public (crowdfunding). The funds collected will be used to improve the education of children in Yemen.
“We welcome the visit of Basamat Development Foundation for their willingness to discuss various issues related to humanitarian matters. We hope this will enable us to expand our humanitarian efforts,” he said.
As a follow-up, Dompet Dhuafa will hold a more specialized discussion between its management and Basamat DF on a specific issue. It is not unlikely that the collaboration that emerges will involve other institutions and stakeholders to support the shared humanitarian mission. Both philanthropic organizations firmly believe that addressing humanitarian issues requires collaboration with multiple parties.
As is currently underway, Dompet Dhuafa is collaborating with government agencies and private NGOs, including the Zakat Forum (FOZ), Humanitarian Forum Indonesia (HFI), National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), and the Ministry of Coordinating Human Development and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenko PMK) to distribute aid to those affected by flash floods in Pakistan. (Dompet Dhuafa / Muthohar)