The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) will spend SR9 million on the Ramadan breakfast project in the Kingdom. “The amount will be distributed among the main regions of Saudi Arabia with SR6.45 million to be spent in the Makkah region alone,” said IIRO General Secretary Adnan Basha. “The least is for SR30,000 for the Al-Jouf office.” He said the money was collected from donors in this country. “Without this money, we will not be able to do this project and other charity projects.” He said IIRO would also distribute food baskets to needy families through its offices. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has tightened control of the breakfast project this Ramadan. New regulations do not permit Imams and Muezzins to raise or collect money and nobody is allowed to provide breakfast inside or around a mosque without the ministry's permission. Only licensed charity organizations are allowed to serve breakfast. Additionally, charity societies have to submit to the ministry a report on money collected and spent, and they should also display a clear, big poster at breakfast locations. The regulations were tightened after the Ministry of Interior caught last April seven terrorist cells that raised SR20 million from donors who thought the money was going to the Ramadan breakfast project. In Makkah, the charity warehouse will distribute at least 5,000 Ramadan breakfast meals daily in the central plaza, said Yahia Al-Kinani, director of the warehouse. “The meals – dry, not cooked – will be packaged in the warehouse,” he said. A dry meal consists of juice, dates, cake or croissant and water. “At the end of Ramadan the number will be increased to 25,000 meals daily for male and female worshipers,” Al-Kinani said. Some 400 male and female staff are to be deployed to the distribution sites, he said, adding that 100 other workers will be hired, “half of them from among orphans and the other half from needy families.” Posters have already been put up in cities around Saudi Arabia, announcing breakfast meals at reasonable prices offered by private kitchens and restaurants who raise funds from donors. The prices vary considering the current high prices of foodstuff. The cost of a meal ranges from SR7 to 10 and the most expensive is SR15. The meal usually consists of a quarter chicken, rice, water, dates, juice, an egg and sambosa. __
