MoU between PRCS and Bank of Palestine to Support Hearing Impaired Persons

(Al-Bireh-1/7/2015): PRCS and Bank of Palestine (BOP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch a campaign supporting hearing-impaired persons. Held under the banner “I want to hear”, this fundraising campaign aims at assisting personswith hearing loss,ensuring their integration and enabling them to live and develop on an equal basis with their peers. BOP announced that it will donate 100000 dollars to this campaign.

The MoU was signed at PRCS’ HQ in Al-Bireh by Mr. Rushdi Al Ghalayini, BOP Vice-Chairman, and Dr. Khaled Joudeh, PRCS’General Director. The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Najat Al Astal and Mr. Jamal Tameezi from PRCS’ Executive Office, as well as by several Heads of Departments. In addition to Mr. Al Ghalayini, BOP was represented by represented by Ms. Susan Khoury, Assistant General Manager, and a number of Heads of the bank’s sections.

Pursuant to the MoU, BOP shall contribute 100 000 dollars to support hearing-impaired persons through a project implemented by PRCS. A joint PRCS/BOP campaign shall also be launched throughout Palestine to encourage individuals and bank clients to donate to this project through bank branches and ATMs. E-banking and e-commerce services shall also be made available to enable people living abroad and internet users to make donations to the PRCS’ Campaign Account from anywhere in the world. Moreover, BOP will promote this campaign through various media and advertisement tools.

Dr. Joudeh welcomed participants on behalf of PRCS’ President Dr. Younis Al Khatib and the Society’s Executive Office. “On behalf of my colleagues, it is my pleasure to sign this MoU which will hopefully constitute a first step towards more fruitful cooperation between our institutions to the benefit of Palestinians. BOP has always lent a helping hand to individuals, development institutions and social organizations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. As you all know, PRCS was created 46 years ago with a view to providing health and social services to Palestinians in general and to persons with disabilities in particular. This MoU shall help boost our activities in the health and social fields and shall pave the way towards furthering cooperation between our two institutions”, he said. At the end of his speech, Dr. Joudeh thanked the Bank’s Board of Directors for its financial support to this project which aims at assisting one of the most disadvantaged population groups in Palestine.

Mr. Al Ghalayini said he was extremely proud to witness the launch of the biggest campaign supporting hearing-impaired persons in Palestine. He underlined the need to provide approx. 1000 hearing-aids, mostly to children, at a cost of more than half a million dollars. “BOP allocates 5% of its net annual profits to social projects and believes in building partnerships with CSOs to this end. It implements numerous projects in the health, education, childhood, relief and cultural fields inter alia”he said. Speaking about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), he said that the bank’s CSR activities focus on health and impairment issues: BOP supports Palestinian hospitals and implements projects aimed at empowering and rehabilitating persons with disabilities.

Finally, Al Ghalayini called on institutions and individuals to ensure the success of this campaign by helping raise 500 000 dollars. He confirmed that BOP shall donate 100 000 dollars to this campaign.