PDO staff raise OMR192,000 for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Muscat: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has donated OMR192,000 to help Rohingya refugees who have fled from their homes to escape violence in Myanmar.

More than 2,000 staff contributed from their salaries in a company-wide appeal to aid the hundreds of thousands who have crossed the border into Bangladesh, where they are living in makeshift camps.

The UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency – says the vast majority of the refugees reaching Bangladesh are women and children, including newborn babies. Many others are elderly people requiring additional aid and protection.

PDO’s External Affairs and Value Creation Director Abdul-Amir Abdul-Hussein Al Ajmi handed over the cheque to Oman Charitable Organisation’s (OCO) Executive Chairman Ali Ibrahim Shenoon Al Raisi. The Company is working with OCO, which is subject to governmental financial supervision, to effectively use the money for humanitarian aid and to support the Rohingyas.

Al Ajmi said: “I would like to thank all PDO employees for their generosity and compassion to help relieve some of the suffering in what is now widely regarded as the world's fastest growing humanitarian crisis.

“Time and again, our staff have shown their willingness to support those in need and we sincerely hope this donation will help make a difference to those who have been affected by the ongoing situation in Myanmar.

“I would also like to thank OCO for its fantastic support to PDO in helping to channel the money to where it is most needed.”

OCO’s Ali Ibrahim Shenoon Al Raisi said: “PDO, which has always supported the national economy, is also at the forefront of supporting humanitarian aid initiatives.

“It is my pleasure to announce that PDO’s donation is the first contribution our organisation has received for its Rohingya campaign. With these contributions, we will provide humanitarian aid and build a refugee camp in south Bangladesh where the number of refugees has reached more than half a million people.”

PDO also contributed almost OMR362,000 to help those caught up in the humanitarian crisis inYemen after two staff appeals in 2015 and 2017. Other fundraising efforts in recent years have included donations for victims of the Nepal earthquake, the Syrian civil war, the Gaza conflict and typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.