Ministry of Islamic Affairs has announced the distribution of dates donated by the Government of Saudi Arabia will continue until May 31.
The 50 tonnes or 25,000 packets of dates donated by the Saudi government for distribution to the people of Maldives during Ramadan were handed over to Islamic ministry on May 12. The donation was officially handed over by the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the Maldives Matrek Abdullah Al-Ajalin Aldosari. The handover ceremony was attended by a special delegation from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Ambassador Aldosari said he had hoped the donation of dates would arrive in the Maldives during Ramadan. However, he noted the arrival of the donation was delayed due to difficulties encountered in transport.
The Islamic ministry has now announced the details of the distribution of dates. As such, the dates will be first distributed among the households registered as poor. The ministry said the dates will be distributed in Male' City, Addu City, Fuvahmulah City, Kudhuffushi City, and atolls in reference to the order of attendance queue and one packet of dates per household registered as poor. The ministry added the remaining packets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis after distributing the dates to the poor.
The date distribution in Male', Villimale', and Hulhumale' will be conducted by the ministry and the distribution in the atolls will be conducted by the island councils and city councils.