Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 5, 2020: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in partnership with Ziina, the UAE’s first licensed social peer-to-peer (P2P) payment application, has launched a fundraising campaign to help families impacted by the two deadly Beirut explosions on August 4th.
 
The fundraising campaign will run from October 4th to November 30th. UNHCR and Ziina aim to raise funds for 500 families who were worst-affected by the Beirut blasts. A donation of 368 AED helps one affected family make essential repairs to their home. 

Anyone with a UAE bank account can donate by simply downloading and registering on the Ziina app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Users can donate in just a few taps, by selecting UNHCR, entering an amount and description, and tapping “Send”. 
 
Ziina offers bank-grade security with end-to-end encryption and provides a safe and seamless way to contribute to the UNHCR campaign as well as to send and receive money for everyday needs.
 
UNHCR’s Chief of Private Sector Partnerships in MENA, Houssam Chahin says: “As Lebanon confronts the devastating toll of the explosion that ripped through the heart of the country’s capital on August 4th, UNHCR, is directing emergency assistance to those worst-affected by the deadly blast. The agency is mobilizing efforts and resources for its emergency response to the most vulnerable Lebanese, refugee and migrant households in the capital, focusing on protection, shelter and psycho-social support to over 300,000 displaced residents.” Adding “we appreciate and thank Ziina’s timely support of this campaign, and look forward to establishing an impactful long-term partnership, bringing awareness and aid to those most in need.”

Ziina’s CEO, Faisal Toukan, adds: “Disaster relief for Lebanon is a cause that is very close to our hearts. At Ziina we believe strongly in the ability of art to shine a light on these causes of our time. We've partnered with artists in our community who have graciously created four works of visual art to support Lebanon in this campaign.

“The first 160 individuals to donate AED 500 or above on Ziina will receive prints of original works of visual art created by talented MENA artists, including storyteller and illustrator Nouri Flayhan (@nouriflayhan), art director Laetitia Keyrouz (@laetitiakeyrouz), collage artist Zaina El-Said (@zainaelsaid), and art director and illustrator Alaa Balkhy (@alaa),” he added.  

Khalid Al Ameri and Salama Mohamed, two of Dubai's most respected and loved content creators will also be creating content to support the donation drive of this campaign. They are both investors in Ziina and will be spreading the word to help the cause.