Saturday 27 / April / 2024
Muscat: Nasr Al Jadhamy’s fourth trip to Yemen is intended to alleviate the suffering of people caught in the civil war that is currently raging across Oman’s south-western neighbour.
Al Jadhamy will be leading a convoy of five trucks to Yemen at the end of January, having previously visited the country during Ramadan and immediately after Eid in 2017, after his first trip to the war-torn country early last year.
In addition to his usual haul of food and clothing, Al Jadhamy has also managed to secure an ambulance, hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and medicines for those who have little left in Yemen.
“The last time I was in Yemen, we stopped at the hospitals to see what the situation was and what they required,” recalled Al Jadhamy. “When we got back to Muscat, we looked for people who could help us, but it was all in vain. Fortunately, out of nowhere, an Omani family approached us and offered to help get the equipment for the hospitals.
“As I had no experience in such matters, they agreed to gather the goods on their own and then hand them to me to deliver,” he added.
“Items were mainly purchased from Dubai and Muscat for about OMR10,000 and then sent to my store. The family invited me over to their house and asked if there was more they could do in this regard. They preferred to stay anonymous and asked me to contact them in future if we needed anything else for the people in Yemen.”
In addition to these medical supplies, Al Jadhamy has organised 25 tonnes of blankets; 16 and a half tonnes of food boxes; 40 tonnes of rice; 25 tonnes of flour; one tonne of milk; twelve and a half tonnes of oil; and a further 40 tonnes of clothing.
With this being Al Jadhamy’s fourth trip to Yemen and having made several additional aid runs overseas, people in Oman were only too willing to come forward to help his noble cause.
“We are trying our best to get the necessary approval, so there is no problem in transporting the goods at the border,” he explained.
“Yesterday, I received a call from Yemen asking me to hold off my trip for some time as the war has gotten worse and it’s hard for the people there to get approval from the ministry.
“I explained to them my situation and informed them the trucks had arrived, so it would be difficult to send them back to Salalah empty. But I understand the situation, and all I can do now is wait for the green signal.”
As a gesture of support, students, teachers and parents from Indian School Al Ghubra donated books, toys and schoolbags to Al Jadhamy for children in Yemen.
“This time, we will be going to Seiyoun, Aden and Mukallah and many other cities that we will only find out about when we get there, because we don’t know where the people who need our help are based,” stated Al Jadhamy.
“My family always worries about me when I fly to Yemen, and they are worried this time as well, but God will take care of me. I believe that we have so much, so we should give to those who have very little. We should not ignore our brothers and sisters in Yemen,” he stressed. “Yemen needs our help. But before you decide to help someone, it is better to check the background of the people who are asking, because you never know what they will use these donations for.”
