Crescent Enterprises Partners with The Big Heart Foundation to support refugees

• 25,000 Rohingya refugees to gain access to clean water and sanitary facilities

Sharjah: Crescent Enterprises has joined hands with The Big Heart Foundation, a Sharjah-based global humanitarian organisation dedicated to helping people in need worldwide, to support the Water & Sanitation for Health (WASH) project supervised by The Big Heart Foundation in the Cox’s Bazar district in southern Bangladesh.

Crescent Enterprises has donated AED 500,000 towards the project purse of one million Dirhams. The project, which is currently being implemented in partnership with BRAC - an international development organisation based in Bangladesh, includes the digging of 13 wells to provide 25,000 Rohingya refugees with adequate access to clean water. Each well will have the capacity to provide clean water for 500 people daily. The project will also provide latrines and health facilities, as well as daily cleaning and maintenance services.

The partnership follows a visit organised by The Big Heart Foundation to Rohingya refugee families in Bangladesh, where Crescent Enterprises CEO Badr Jafar witnessed their hazardous living conditions and the group pledged to help raise their standards of living.

Commenting on the initiative, Badr Jafar, Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Enterprises, said: “We are committed to empowering vulnerable communities in collaboration with strategic partners, and are very proud of the work The Big Heart Foundation is doing to assist Rohingya families in Bangladesh. The Rohingya refugee crisis is one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of today, and requires the concerted action of responsible global players.”

Mariam Al Hammadi, Director of The Big Heart Foundation, said: “Crescent Enterprises’ support reflects their organisational culture of humanitarianism and their strong commitment to sustainable development initiatives. Their valuable contribution will go a long way in helping us alleviate the sufferings of Rohingya refugees, and gives a much-needed fillip to our ongoing humanitarian efforts in Bangladesh since 2017. We seek to ensure that these people, particularly women and children, have continued access to basic resources and facilities such as education and healthcare. These are fundamental human rights and must be enjoyed by everyone without exception.”

Al Hammadi sees the Crescent Enterprises’ partnership as an example to highlight the need for united action - locally and globally - to ensure liveable conditions for forcibly displaced and disadvantaged communities. She also stressed that public health projects to provide clean water and sanitation are especially important.

Since 2017, over 745,000 Rohingya people have fled Myanmar and sought refuge in southern Bangladesh. Cox’s Bazar is now home to the world’s largest refugee camp, with about one million refugees living in challenging circumstances, and depending on aid for their food, water and sanitation, shelter, and medical needs.

Since inception, Crescent Enterprises has actively supported numerous social and environmental projects and campaigns by engaging in community initiatives ranging from social entrepreneurship, education, and the environment, to arts and culture and corporate governance. The company’s support for The Big Heart Foundation and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is aligned with the UAE’s national efforts in philanthropy. Recently, and for the fifth year in a row, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) named the UAE as the world's largest donor of Official Development Aid in relation to national income.

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About Crescent Enterprises

Crescent Enterprises (CE) is a multinational company headquartered in the UAE. It operates a range of regional and global businesses across four platforms: CE-Operates, its operating business platform; CE-Invests, its strategic investments platform; CE-Ventures, its corporate venture capital platform; and CE-Creates, its internal business incubation platform.

Crescent Enterprises employs over 3,000 people in 15 countries and is a subsidiary of the Crescent Group, one of the most progressive family business groups that has been actively contributing to shaping the economic landscape of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for over 45 years.

crescententerprises.com 

About The Big Heart Foundation

The Big Heart Foundation was established in May 2015 by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, to convene the wide-reaching humanitarian efforts based in the United Arab Emirates with the aim of helping children and families in vulnerable situations in around the world. The Big Heart Foundation’s mission is to work wherever support is most needed. They raised US$ 15.8 million in 2018, which was taken up by TBHF’s healthcare, education and emergency aid funds to help 12 nations facing heightened crises including Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine and Syria, Tanzania, Mauritania, Somalia and South Sudan.

© Press Release 2019