Zakat fund distributed JD5m to 218,000 families in first-half of 2020

AMMAN — The Zakat Fund and its committees have distributed JD5 million since the beginning of this year up until the middle of June to 218,000 families, according to the Fund’s Director General Abd Smeirat. 

Smeirat said in a press conference on Wednesday that the exact amount stood at JD49,463,336, from which 218,396 families benefited.

The fund reaches more than 50,000 families annually through its main budget and the donations made to its branches, which are distributed throughout the Kingdom, he said.

"The fund provides many monthly, in-kind and emergency assistance, rehabilitation projects as well as various programmes,  all of which have contributed to making great progress in the implementation of the Royal initiative launched by His Majesty King Abdullah in early 2019," according to Smeirat.

The fund’s director general said that during the coronavirus crisis, the fund worked through social media groups to manage the distribution of donations to those affected by the crisis while ensuring the adherence to physical distancing and other health precautions in delivering to beneficiaries’ homes.

The fund provided cash assistance, home restorations and aid parcels to families in coordination with authorities in the areas where aid was distributed.

Smeirat said that during the lockdown,  the fund created its own application to “facilitate the payment by donors through the use of their smartphones to the fund’s account”.

Regarding the fund's community programmes, Smeirat pointed out that the fund organised a cultural, religious and social competition on social media sites through its page during the coronavirus crisis in the framework of its “communal duty” to motivate citizens to stay at home for fear of transmitting the virus.