Tuesday, March 01, 2005

أهل الخير والكرم

Slate just published its 9th Annual Slate 60 of America's most generous philanthropists and how much they actually donated to a variety of charitable causes.

How about we conduct a similar exercise here in Kuwait? Can we get 6o?

No?



OK how about 40?

20?!

14 comments:

  1. I am sure we can get more than 60. Just goto Amiri Hosptital and visit each floor and read the plaques of people who donated money to renovate that ward.

    Also if you read that list most of the people gave money to charities that are in their own name.

    Kuwait doesn't have an IRS so peoples contribution to charities are between themselves and God and is not a popularity contest.

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  2. zeeez ya zeeeez..... why not ? shell mane3 ina al kuwaitien they wont even reach higher than that!!

    there is one explanation inik esh7afan and you see the whole country that way,,, because kuwaitis are known for their helps and donations..COMMON zeez

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  3. Does the term يهود الخليج ring a bell?

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  4. ya allaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah ..

    abo 7af9 ... I HATE U

    nibaq .. u got it right dear ..muaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahz zeidoun .. u better visit the handicapped and special care facilities .. u would probably change ur mind ..

    nooni .. sweet nooni .. I LOVE U BABY ;)

    & shurouq ... does the term " duuuuh " ring a bell ??
    knock it off sweety .. cuz who ever called us as such are none but envious , penniless beggars

    & Zeydoun .. weld deerti el3azeez .. weddi lo ent jeddami al7een .. a5thik ma3ay .. tadri ween ? awadeek 7ag dar el 3ajaza aw dar el aytam .. aw 7ata el mo3a8een ... just to prove to u how mistakenly ur views have gone ..

    offffffff .. this is tooo much to handle guys :S

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  5. Chinna inzaffait..

    Calm down guys.. and please take some time to read the article I linked to.

    Kuwait is full of generous and charitable people, who have dedicated their time, resources and even their lives to helping those in need both inside Kuwait and elsewhere. I've personally visited the handicapped and the children's cancer ward among others... Some of my relatives are also very active in charity work, so it has rubbed off on me since childhood.

    HOWEVER... all of these charitable foundations suffer from a lack of funding that can be helped with one fat cheque from one of our wealthy citizens. There are many millionaires who live under the radar and away from the public eye, and they live just like Scrooge in the picture.

    Contrast that with this list. Yes, I'm aware that there are tax incentives in the US for charitable donations.. but it doesn't change the fact that most of our millionaires are stingy. In fact, its the regular folks like you and me who seem to donate more!

    Nibaq.. the hospital wards at Amiri cost around KD 200,000 to refurbish (some of them less), to fix something that, frankly, the government should take care of.

    And nooni...
    انا ماني شحفان.. بس ابي الرفعة والسمعة الطيبة حق بلدي

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  6. can we name 60 donators ? yes we could

    whats your criteria for that ?
    donate over 1% of your total wealth ? donate yearly ? donate to places they don't have realtion with ?
    depending on your criteria we could figure out if we could list 60 or 100 or even 5

    yes we do have wealthy people in kuawit that don't donate a fils , and we do have wealthy that donate for a lot of projects here and there.

    example for the criteria i'm talking about is al-ghanim , president of kuwait soccer club
    he and his family donate a lot of money to the club , over 100,000 kd
    can we consider that donation on your list ? i don't know , whats your criteria

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  7. Forzaq8..

    My criteria are in the millions

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  9. Dont you know people,,,,!!! That we are not suppose to exploit any chartable gestures we make , is it not what our parents taught us?

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  10. I have been to the old people's home and to the orphanage and to most of the facilities for the handicapped/challenged...the only one that passed as a place where you would want someone you love to be is the Handicapped society and that is because the little old lady who goes after the donations is one hell of a woman, and wont let the rich people get away with just giving peanuts. When you ask for donations, even the smallest amount (and I know people who arrange contacts for many charities that require funding)it's like pulling teeth here.
    Of course like anywhere else in the world there are the generous few. But considering the amount of wealth we are sitting on...The facilities from the hospitals to our schools to everything that should have money pouring into it are awful. The young boy who survived the electrocution, he has to be taken abroad, becase the hospital he is in is telling the family that if they want him to have a chance they better not bet on anything in Kuwait. How's that for a country that has billionnaires and has an economy that is the envy of any country this small?
    Most of the hospitals make you feel like you are in the poorest countries in the third world. You have to shower like u have been dipped in crap everytime u visit one.
    Loving your country has nothing to do with being blind to it's weaknesses, it has to do with wanting it to be as good as it should be. I think Z was trying to point to the conflict between having a lot and giving a little, not about the generous few who everyone is thankful exist everywhere in the world. There are some great things going on, yes thank God, but there is definately room for improvement.

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  11. You go Zaydoun!

    Let's talk about the public schools in Kuwait. My Kuwaiti friends 6 year old daughter has a vaginal infection because she tries not to go to the bathroom all day at school because they are so disgusting. How sad is that?

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  12. I am really saddened by the fact that people think by donating large sums of money to hospitals , the handicap and the schools will automagically fix all the problems with them.

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  13. Money never solves anything Nibaq, very true, and I don't think anyone suggested that it would be the magic potion for all the problems these places have...but you can't improve them without some money...it's one of the first steps..at least towards getting some things fixed and updated...the hospitals need experts, equipment, comforts, cleanliness..and they don't come free...nothing is automatic...but one of the steps is funding for the right places..what harm could it really do..

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  14. No amount of funding is the the right first step.

    Like that previous comment on bathrooms in a primary school. Is the school so strapped for cash that they dont have 5kd for cleaning supplies? Or is it cause the adminstration doesn't care and let it go to waste.

    Same as in the hospitals, doctors have told me that Kuwait has one of the best equipment available but the worst system. Just visit an emergency room at Amiri or Mubarak at night and see the mess. There is no triage. You take a number then fight your way to see a doctor. People have died waiting for medical attention there.

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Keep it clean, people!