RAMALLAH: A group photo taken at the ceremony to announce the start of the Manara project. - KUNA

RAMALLAH: Kuwait's International Islamic Charity Organization (IICO) launched yesterday the 'Manara' project to support needy families and orphans at the Palestinian Universities in the West Bank. Around 28 students will benefit from the initiative through the Wafa institution for Development and Capacity building in Ramallah.

On the occasion, Head of the Institutions Unit and Major Donors at the IICO Jarrah Ibrahim Al-Zaid said that the organization worked on providing all forms of support and assistance to the Palestinians, especially talented and distinguished students.

In a direct speech delivered through the Zoom digital platform, Zaid said during a ceremony in which scholarships were announced in Ramallah, the Organization took the initiative believing in those talented students to help build the future of their country. The project comes within the IICO's strategy that enhances education and provide high slandered educational opportunities, in compliance with the fourth goal of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which focuses on the quality of education.

Meanwhile, Director of the Wafa institution for Development and Capacity building Mohaisen Al-Atawenah praised the IICO for its contribution for many basic projects in health, housing, comprehensive care sectors. In a statement to the press on the sidelines of the ceremony, Atawenah said that the scholarship covers two semesters for students of various academic disciplines in universities in the West Bank. The selection of beneficiaries was based on specific criteria, the most important of which is the need of the poor and orphans, and then academic excellence, he added.

He expressed his thanks for Amir and people of Kuwait for the generous support in all fields, and extended his thanks for Kuwaiti Charitable societies and organizations. In the meantime, Director General of Grants and Scholarships at the Ministry of Higher Education, Shadi Al-Helou, said, "We look forward to increase this scholarship in the future." "On behalf of the Minister of Higher Education, we extend our thanks to the sisterly State of Kuwait for this university scholarship, which includes distinguished specializations," he added. - KUNA