DUBAI, UAE, February 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and their children, HH Sheikha Al Jalila Bint Mohammed Al Maktoum and HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, today donated 28 million Jordanian Dinars (approx. US$ 40 million) in memory of HM the Late King Hussein Bin Talal and HM the late Queen Alia Al Hussein.

HM King Hussein passed away on the 7^th of February 1999, and HM Queen Alia passed away on the 9^th of February, 1977.

Tkiyet Um Ali was originally the idea of HM the Late Queen Alia Al Hussein more than 40 years ago; she had worked on the idea shortly before her death. In 2003, HRH Princess Haya, who had the original concept documents, established Tkiyet Um Ali, the first non-governmental organization to provide sustainable food support by serving hot meals and distributing food parcels, in addition to providing humanitarian food aid to Jordan's underprivileged.

Tkiyet Um Ali seeks to realise a hunger free Jordan through the provision of sustainable food assistance to families living in extreme poverty.  In May 2013, Tkiyet Um Ali launched a project to eradicate hunger to provide families living in extreme poverty with sustainable food assistance. Currently, Tkiyet Um Ali feeds 18,000 households that have been identified as families who live below the hunger and poverty line.

"The donation comes at a time where food insecurity in Jordan has tripled following the Syrian Refugee Crisis," stated HRH Princess Haya, Chairperson of Tkiyet Um Ali. "We conducted recent field studies that indicate that today around 30,000 Jordanian families are food insecure, reinforcing the urgent need to reach an additional 10,000 households."

As Tkiyet Um Ali aims to cover these 30,000 families across the Kingdom, HRH Princess Haya has assigned a task force headed by her brother, HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, and HE Hussein Al Majali and Mr. Zaid Al Hamdan, to oversee the ramp up and ensure any necessary logistical help required on an official basis.  

"This year marks 18 years since the passing of HM the Late King Hussein Bin Talal and 40 years since the passing of HM the Late Queen Alia Al Hussein who, above all, were people who cared about humanity," stated HRH Princess Haya. "There is no more fitting way to celebrate their lives and continue their legacies by doing something they would have done themselves."

Tkiyet Um Ali is named after Her Majesty Queen Alia ('um Ali') and is inspired by an Islamic concept of providing food for the poor while demonstrating social responsibility towards those less privileged. HM Queen Alia was fondly named in Jordan as the 'mother of the poor'.

SOURCE Office of HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein