Ooredoo Group companies in MENA and Asia Pacific complete 2020 Ramadan campaign of supporting communities, amid COVID-19 pandemic

June 10, 2020 - QATAR: Ooredoo Group companies across the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia established projects and initiatives targeting marginalised and under-served communities, while rewarding medical staff and others on the front lines of fighting disease. Whereas in previous years the members of the Ooredoo Group have engaged with the communities in which they operate, this year the campaign has been about community-building, bringing people together at a time when essential public health policies are confining them to the home.

As part of the Ramadan campaign, Ooredoo Group released its annual Ramadan commercial with a very distinctive message to usual. 2020’s video focused on the way that Muslims across the globe would have a very different Ramadan from the usual, staying apart from family members, friends and neighbours. Shot completely on smartphones in eight different countries, Ooredoo’s global Ramadan message encouraged communities to remain strong and keep connected to their loved ones using digital technologies, despite being physically apart.

With its message "even if we can't be together, at least we can still be close", Ooredoo's Ramadan campaign reached 44 million video views, exceeding all expectations and the records set in previous years.

Talking about the campaign, Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo, said: “Traditionally the holy month of Ramadan brings families together in reflection and gratitude, but this has proven challenging during the pandemic. We are proud of the way our annual Ramadan campaign addressed these issues this year, from the 2020 video promoting digital togetherness, to the practical steps taken to help citizens, customers, communities and the medics and other public servants who support them.

Ooredoo Qatar announced a raft of Ramadan offers under the umbrella of the ‘Giving More In Ramadan’ campaign, designed to support customers in these challenging times. The company has stepped up to the challenge of maintaining its corporate social responsibility activities despite the logistical challenges posed by the outbreak. This meant Ramadan gifts were delivered to patients at the Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Center, to the elderly at Ehsan Center, to the children at the Orphans Care Center (Deama) and to labourers working at Katara and Souq Waqif, Doha’s historic market area, while taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of volunteers and gift recipients.

More broadly, a wide range of heavily discounted or free packages of data were made available to customers in order to build practical support for the call, during the Holy Month and beyond, to #StayHomeWithOoredoo . Existing digital initiatives have helped Ooredoo Qatar to bring families and communities closer together at this time of year.

Ooredoo Kuwait has celebrated Girgian — a mid-Ramadan celebration marked with children wearing traditional clothes and going door-to-door to neighbours to receive sweets and nuts whilst also singing traditional songs — very differently this year amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation in the country. The company distributed gifts to frontline staff at Sheikh Jaber Hospital and delivered gifts with every order placed through one of the popular delivery companies operating in the country. This initiative reiterates Ooredoo’s commitment to joining all segments of society together in the events that matter to them the most.

In Oman, Ooredoo ensured its customers could stay connected to friends and loved ones over Ramadan with special offers on local calls. By making it easier for people to be together even when social distancing, the Ramadan offer on calls cut stress while encouraging people to stay home. Funds were pledged to Dar Al Atta’a’s relief initiative, named “Together in Hardship and Ease”. This ongoing scheme collects donations to support families in Oman whose income has been reduced or those who have experienced job loss due to the coronavirus.

Ooredoo Algeria launched a solidarity caravan in the West, East and centre of Algeria, designed to distribute sohour meals to crucial medical staff, hard at work saving lives. Launched in cooperation with the the Algerian Muslim Scouts was a parallel operation, which saw iftar meals distributed to local needy persons. In partnership with the Algerian Red Crescent, boxes of basic foodstuffs were donated to more than 2000 low-income families across the country.

Ooredoo Tunisia built upon an impulse of solidarity between the company and its employees to help hospitals, students and especially needy families impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. During the Holy Month, the company launched a donation campaign through its humanitarian association Ooredoo El Khir to help families in need via MobiCash. Some 330 families affected by the current crisis benefited from the donations.

Under its “Ramadan Share to Unite Against Covid-19” programme, Indosat Ooredoo made a substantial donation to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Authority (BNPB), buying protective equipment and surgical masks, while funding special buses, portable washing stations and disinfectant chambers for use in the fight against the virus. There was also a hefty donation made to assist the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta and 10 other major cities nationwide in their pandemic countermeasures initiatives, aligned with the company's #StayHomeStayConnected campaign.

Ooredoo Maldives increased support to customers, by strengthening their increasingly important digital connections to friends and family. A wide range of data packages, such as the Daily Data Combo, were made available at competitive prices, while a new partnership between the company and a popular messaging and calling app made it even easier to get free and immediate alerts for prayer throughout the month of Ramadan. Zakat payments enabled online, easing some of the uncertainties of the ongoing lockdown, while Ramadan-specific social engagements were organised, such as religious quizzes and ‘stories from the Quran’ events. Significant contributions were also made during the Holy Month to support the fight against the ongoing pandemic, including a significant donation to the government to acquire medical supplies and equipment, as well as the donation of 50 intubation boxes to the National Disaster Management Authority. To celebrate the end of Ramadan, special meals were shared with migrant workers in temporary shelters.

Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani concluded: “It gives me great pleasure this Holy Month to see Ooredoo’s corporate ethos demonstrated in an unwavering message, backed up by practical measures across our whole global footprint. Ooredoo teams in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia have responded responsibly and courageously to the unprecedented and challenging situation we face, exemplifying Ooredoo Group’s values, expressed in a genuine commitment to the spirit of our corporate social responsibility.”