Mobile applications make charity easier this Ramadan

JEDDAH: As charity is considered to be one of the most important good deeds and virtues to be practised during Ramadan, Muslims are keen to help in different ways, including giving water, food or clothes to the needy.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that the best form of charity was to give someone water to drink. He also said: “He is not a believer whose stomach is full while his neighbor to his side goes hungry.” In the past, charity used to require individual efforts to find deserving beneficiaries. But many reliable organizations have emerged in the Kingdom to facilitate donations. Technology nowadays has successfully eliminated the need for donors’ physical presence. Charity websites and mobile apps help people step up their efforts and spread goodness worldwide while at home.
Mobile apps have come to the fore following the COVID-19 outbreak, becoming one of the best ways to fulfill daily needs, including community services and charitable works.

Bottled water
Erwaa is a free Saudi app that facilitates the delivery of bottled water for mosques with a single click. Its delivery service operates 24/7.
The app was established in 2019 and is one of the outcomes of the Charity Association for Drinking Water Services (Erwaa). It helps distribute cartons of bottled water, starting from 10 cartons for SR120 ($32) to 10,000 for SR120,000. Erwaa gives donors the choice to pick from the most crowded mosques in Makkah, apart from the Grand Mosque, during the Umrah and Hajj seasons. It provides safe payment methods via SADAD, credit card and PayPal. It is available for iOS and Android users.
The Saudi Ministry of Health signed the first-of-its-kind agreement with Erwaa in 2019 to finance and establish a desalination plant project in the Makkah region with the help of ministry employees.

Helping the needy
While people used to give away food supplies to nearby needy families, this year’s lockdown has limited such charitable acts.
The Association of Neighborhood Centers in Jeddah has created an initiative called Arzaq. Arzaq is a website that has a humanitarian, charitable and developmental dimension. It aims to help people inside the cities of Jeddah and Makkah to obtain their nutritional needs in an organized way.

It guarantees the transparency and credibility of the donor, and preserves the dignity and privacy of the beneficiary. It is based on the geographical distribution and database within neighborhoods. The electronic platform allows all members of society to contribute to supporting needy individuals and families, by providing them with basic foodstuffs during Ramadan and also throughout the year.

Arzaq aims to reach 30,000 beneficiaries. The website gives the option of donating basic foodstuffs of three sizes and prices starting from SR350 up to SR700, as well as financial help of selected amounts. It targets orphans, widows and the families of prisoners.
The initiative also enables donors to view information about beneficiaries — their status, the number of family members, their needs and the district where they live.
There is a feature that guides the donor to the most urgent cases.