Arab philanthropist makes major contribution to the Billion Tree Campaign
The Tarek A. Juffali Foundation has generously donated US dollars 65,000 to the Billion Tree Campaign. The Billion Tree Campaign Secretariat and other partners have received a major financial contribution towards the Billion Tree Campaign. Funding will be used to plant trees in countries that were affected by desertification or by fires and to cover some of the costs of information multimedia products.
Tarek A. Juffali and his Foundation
Mr. Tarek Juffali is the youngest son of Ahmad and Suad Al Husseini Juffali. His home country is Saudi Arabia but he has a special affinity to Palestine, the place birth of his mother.
He serves on the board of several corporations owned and run by the EAJB group and the TAJCO holding.
The family of Ahmad Juffali believes in investing back in societies where they operate. They have funded several charities and developmental projects focusing mainly on Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Lebanon. 23 years ago, they established a sizable Trust to fund, in particular, the Help Centre in Jeddah, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the service of the mentally and physically challenged. As leading experts in the field have stated, this is a state of the art facility, equal to none in the entire region, and where no effort or funds were spared to provide children with the desire, knowledge and ability to integrate and participate fully in their societies.
Since its inception, Mr. Tarek Juffali contributed to its development by providing personal funds and currently, he serves on its Board as a Trustee.
Like his parents, Mr. Tarek Juffali, is committed to philanthropy. Over the past ten years, he provided assistance to individuals, charities and not-for-profit organizations; he responded to disasters and emergencies; and has taken the lead and is directly involved in an area for which he has a particular passion, assisting individuals whose life have became unmanageable as a result of dysfunctions and substance abuse.
In 2003 and 2005 respectively, he established the Nour Al-Shorouk counseling centres to address the dire need that exists in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Beirut, Lebanon. He hopes to expand this service to the Middle East and North Africa regions in the coming years.
In 2006, inorder to ensure that international standards of transparency are applied, Mr. Juffali decided to structure his annual giving and to plan for his afterlife, by establishing a Foundation to manage his charitable Trust (The Tarek A. Juffali Foundation is incorporated in the Bahamas and based in Beirut, Lebanon). At the same time, strategic alliances with United Nations agencies as well as with privately funded Foundations and NGOs are forged to advance its goals and objectives and to maximize impact on beneficiaries.
Of note, projects being financed (or to be financed) by TAJF are the following: with The World Health Organization, the Port Sudan Kidney Dialysis Centre, with United Nations Development Programme, supply of fresh water from wells in the district of Jizan, with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, mobile health teams in the West Bank. In cooperation with the Prince Sultan University of Riyadh and with the Prince Selman Centre for Disability Research, the Foundation is working on setting up a pilot Academic Assistance Unit for students with mild physical or mental disabilities in the Middle East, as " there is stronger evidence that if mental disabilities go undetected or neglected, low self esteem will emerge and even potentially lead to substance abuse".
The mission statement of the Foundation states that it was established "to enhance the well-being of fellow men and women. Its geographic scope is regional, covering the Middle East and North Africa and, on occasion, the international community. The Foundation supports mainly not-for-profit and charitable organizations operating in the areas of food and shelter relief, as well as health care and education. Through its grant making scheme, it aims primarily at strengthening quality programmes that address emerging needs facing societies or sustaining projects that demonstrated their effectiveness. In limited instances, the Foundation might indulge directly into executing projects that advance its mission".
Contacts:
Executive Director: Mr. Raja Nahas
P.O. Box 11-5513 Beirut, Lebanon
Fax: +961 137 3680
Email: foundation@tjuffali.com