SINGAPORE (ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES) – An emergency kitchen set up in North Sinai, Egypt, near the Gaza border, is expected to provide hot meals daily to at least 7,000 displaced families and medical evacuees with the support of the Singapore Red Cross (SRC).
This initiative is part of SRC’s third round of aid, totaling USD600,000 (SGD815,000), in response to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The kitchen in North Sinai will support people in temporary shelters managed by the Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERC).
SRC will also procure items like rice, flour and tuna from suppliers in Egypt to form food parcels, it said at a media briefing at its Dhoby Ghaut headquarters on April 24.
With the help of the ERC, the parcels will be sent to Gaza to support more than 9,000 families. Each parcel can sustain a family of five for a week.
SRC chief executive Benjamin William said: “An estimated 1.5 million people have sought refuge in Rafah, with children, women and men living with the pain of hunger. Some families have to share just one can of food every 48 hours and live in a constant state of stress and fear, wondering when their next meal will be.”
Rafah is the southernmost city on the Gaza Strip, lying near the border with Egypt.
Meals from the kitchen and food parcels are a significant initiative by Singaporean donors to play a part in addressing the severe hunger crisis in Gaza, he added.
Eight volunteers have flown to Cairo to assist with sourcing suppliers for the food parcels and packing of relief items. They have undergone SRC’s overseas disaster deployment training.
One volunteer operations coordinator is currently stationed in the Egyptian city to oversee SRC activities.
The organisation will also procure USD200,000 worth of medical supplies such as first-aid items and blood pressure monitors that are requested by the Palestine Red Crescent Society and Gaza hospitals.
SRC’s first tranche of aid in October 2023 saw USD200,000 worth of relief supplies sent to Gaza. In November 2023, it sent more than USD100,000 worth of humanitarian goods to the ERC.
Mr William noted that humanitarian needs continue to increase and will change as the winter months come.
“Look at the statistics. We are helping 7,000 to 9,000 families, but we are talking about 1.7 million people who are displaced – it is a drop in the ocean. So the more funds we can raise, the more we can do.”
