Sami Yusuf visits the World Food Progamme’s Major Logistical Hub in Dubai
Sami Yusuf, the internationally renowned musician, a World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador
Sami Yusuf has sold millions of albums across the world and has an international fan base. The singer uses his voice and music to express a positive message and to raise awareness about world hunger. A staggering 815 million people around the globe go to bed hungry each night and WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian organization, works tirelessly to save lives and to change lives.
WFP invited the singer to its major logistical facility from where it dispatches aid to the world’s biggest crises and disasters. In April alone, WFP sent a plane filled with food from Dubai to Papua New Guinea after a major earthquake hit the country. The plane used for the airlift was provided by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The cargo, more than 80 metric tons of nutritious biscuits, was distributed to 60,000 earthquake-affected people. Later that month, more planes departed, this time with relief material for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
“Today I have seen what is being done to help people in need from WFP’s warehouse in Dubai. I came out from this visit feeling inspired, excited and wanting to do more,” said Yusuf.
Sami Yusuf visited the beating heart of WFP’s relief operations at the main warehouse in Dubai, based at the International Humanitarian City (IHC), chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Haya bint Al Hussein. The artist toured the 16,000 square meter, state of the art, storage space with relief items like food, but also tents, tarps and cold-stored medicines.
“Today I have seen what is being done to help people in need from WFP’s warehouse in Dubai. I came out from this visit feeling inspired, excited and wanting to do more,” said Yusuf.
Sami Yusuf has witnessed WFP in action in multiple countries and visited programmes in Kenya, Egypt and Jordan. In Jordan, the singer visited Zaatari Refugee Camp where he saw first-hand the plight of refugees who fled the conflict in Syria. Yusuf met families who shared with him stories of loss, war and hope.
“As a Goodwill Ambassador, I have visited refugee camps in Jordan and Kenya where people sought sanctuary. I connected with people whose families were torn apart and lives were ravished,” said Yusuf. “In Zataari Camp, I spoke to children who were clearly traumatized by what they had experienced. I remember meeting a young lady who, with tears in her eyes, said her only dream was to be able to study. It is heart breaking to hear these personal stories. It could have been me, my sister, my mother, or any of us.”
The British singer joined WFP as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2014, but supported the fight against hunger long before that. In 2012 for example, Sami Yusuf recorded the song ‘Forgotten Promises’, for which all the proceeds were donated to WFP food assistance in the Horn of Africa. After typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013, the singer recorded another charity single called ‘Hope Survives’, in aid of WFP’s flood relief efforts.
WFP thanks Sami Yusuf for his continued commitment to reach Zero Hunger.
Sami Yusuf wrote an editorial for Newsweek Middle East, in which he expresses his vision for a Zero Hunger world. The article is available in English here and in Arabic on the website of Newsweek.
During the visit to WFP in the UAE, Sami Yusuf recorded a podcast interview with WFP staff and the CEO of International Humanitarian City. The podcast (episode 6) is available here.
