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Interfaith and The Middle East
Two new fundraising initiatives by Nicky Wynne
Thanks to two of our key corporate supporters, one of whom is a new donor, we have been able, over the past few months, to further develop our fundraising work in The United Arab Emirates (UAE).
With their help we have introduced the vital work of our charity to a broader range of potential supporters. In my role as Head of Fundraising & Marketing, and as the guest of these anonymous supporters, I visited Dubai and Sharjah in June of this year. As a direct result of this visit, we received an unrestricted gift of $20,000. Again, thanks to the anonymous support and at no cost to our charity, I will be returning to the UAE in November to further develop leads for our charity.
Whilst there – and by invitation – I will be giving presentations on our work to the Rotary Clubs of Dubai and Sharjah and I would like to use this opportunity to thank Sir Sigmund Sternberg, co-founder of Three Faiths Forum, who assisted with introductions and instigated my membership into the City of London Rotarian Club.
In a further nod to Sir Sigmund and his work, the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group is intending to give formal recognition to the interfaith element of our charity’s philosophy. We provide eye care to all – Muslim, Jewish and Christian alike – and we believe it time to acknowledge this very important aspect of our work today and tomorrow!
The work of the Hospital Group can be seen to encourage peace and cohesion between communities in the Holy Land since it provides a vital service to everyone, irrespective of where they are from or their religious identity. Also, our charity links Christians and Muslims within Palestinian communities – this solidarity should not be taken for granted and should be celebrated; there are many who would attempt to create divisions between different faith groups and within ethnic groups. We are now initiating an Interfaith Project in order to give recognition and thanks to the three key faiths that support our work. Using relevant religious texts and expertise, a ‘Scriptural Exploration of the Gift of Sight’ is to take place and we look forward, in the near future, to sharing in a non-political and transparent way how support for our work is not linked to just one faith group, but that it comes from a variety of faiths. For more information on the Interfaith Project, or about donating from the Middle East, please contact Nicky Wynne on 020 7553 6969 or email nicky.wynne@stjohneyehospital.org