Beirut, April 11, 2016: His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Trade Dr. Alain Hakim inaugurated the official launch of “Ajialouna digital donation machine” which was exclusively patented by Ajialouna. The launch took place during a press conference at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon in the Rafik Al Hariri Hall in Beirut. The Conference was attended by Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, Mr. Mohammed Choucair and the assistant of the General Manager of Bank Audi Mrs. Randa Bdeir as well as many political, economic and social figures, and a crowd of benevolent donors and the media.
In his speech Minister of Economy and Trade Dr. Alain Hakim stressed on the need for intensive efforts from the whole community to cope with the complexities of our social life. These complexities are the result of the current circumstances, the evolution of the living conditions as well as the economic and security changes that dictate a whole set of new conditions that the Lebanese have to deal with. Unfortunately, the government often falls short in keeping up with these rapid transformations. He added: “This is where the role of honorable institutions like Ajialouna comes in”. Minister Hakim also felt that this digital donation machine is well deserved by Ajialouna. After all, it is an innovative idea that aims at being accessible to everyone in order to help the largest number of people, in the easiest and fastest way possible.
Hakim also congratulated Ajialouna for its efforts and its persistent humanitarian work that is positively affecting all areas around Lebanon, especially in light of the large number of displaced Syrians moving into the country. He stressed that the Ministry of Economy and Trade will not hesitate to do everything in its power to support Ajialouna and promote this initiative to better serve Lebanese society.
Mohammed Choucair, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon congratulated Ajialouna for this benevolent initiative, which was added to a series of charity work that the organization has been carrying out across Lebanon to serve the society, heal wounds and give hope for a better future. He said: “Lebanon is probably at one of its worst phases on various levels. In fact, the latest statistics show that the number of Lebanese who live below the poverty line exceeded 1 million Lebanese in 2012. Since then and up until 2016 things have gone from bad to worse, with that number rising to one and a half million”.
Choucair discussed the unfortunate failure of the government to carry out its duties to address these difficulties. There are so many reasons behind this, most notably the disabled government institutions and departments, pointing out that May is just around the corner, a time when Lebanon would complete its second year of presidential void. Choucair stressed on the importance of the tremendous efforts undertaken by civil society institutions to alleviate the burden of this situation. He stressed that without Ajialouna and other similar institutions, the situation would have been much worse. He added: “For that reason, we really need to activate this unity and social solidarity, which must be the slogan of these difficult times, in order to strengthen our society and ensure that our social relations remain intact.”
In her speech, Randa Bdeir, the Assistant to the General Manager of Bank Audi, referred to the importance of Ajialouna’s digital donation machine given that it is in tune with the technological evolution all around the world. She also considered that this innovative idea is worthy of international awards.
On her part, the President of Ajialouna Association Dr. Lina Al-Zaim Al-Dada thanked all those who have supported Ajialouna in its benevolent quest over the years. She explained the importance of this digital donation machine and its mechanism, noting that it is the first of its kind in Lebanon. In fact, it was manufactured in China, its programming was developed in Canada and its software was created by a company called Chip. Ajialouna also collaborated with the Credit Card Artema program from Bank Audi for credit card payments in order to facilitate the donation process.
The machine system allows the donor to choose one of multiple aid sections depending on which the person would like to support. These include medical aid, adopting an orphan, helping someone in need, empowering women, Ramadan, a hotline for health assistance and hospitalization, life petal for a children with cancer , supporting the elderly, Zakat and Sadaka. After that the donor chooses the amount that they would like to donate from the list provided on the machine screen.
Al-Dada announced that twenty machines were funded by donors and distributed to a number of commercial centers, including ABC Malls in Achrafieh and Dbayeh, Dunes in Verdun, Le Mall Saida and Dbayeh, BHV and Beirut souks. The machines can also be found in a number of hospitals such as Trad Hospital, Rizk Hospital, Haykal Hospital in Tripoli, Hammoud Hospital in Sidon, in addition to the Lancaster Hotel.
In conclusion, Al-Dada along with Minister Hakim and Choucair, distributed honorary trophies to all the benevolent donors whose donations brought these digital donation machines to life