TEHRAN – Benefactors across the country have donated a sum of 4.9 trillion rials (nearly $15.3 million) for the financially struggling students through a charity event prior to the upcoming school year which began on September 23.

Known as Jashn-e Atefeha (literally meaning the festival of kindnesses), the event which solicits contributions in-kind or cash by referring to schools, mosques, or online banking, has been held for 24 years by Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation.

The first phase of the event is held in mosques a week before the beginning of the new school year (September 23), and the second phase of the event is held at schools a week later when students can grant their donations to those students in need.

Known as Jashn-e Atefeha (the festival of kindnesses), the event solicits contributions in-kind or cash by referring to schools, mosques, or online banking.The event spreads altruistic culture and promotes the Islamic tradition of helping others, through which many financially struggling students are provided with the opportunity to continue their education.

This year, a total of 4.9 trillion rials (nearly $15.3 million) in cash and kind have been donated. Non-cash donations in the form of stationery and other essential items were also provided to the students, ISNA reported on Sunday.

School-building benefactors

School building benefactors allotted a total of 34 trillion rials (nearly $130 million) to construct educational spaces across the country over the past [Iranian calendar] year (March 2021-March 2022), ISNA reported.

Due to the promotion of the culture of participation in school construction, school-building donors allotted trillion rials (nearly $130 million) last year, which was 170 billion rials (around $650) in 1998 when the Association of School-Building Donors was established, Education Minister Yousef Nouri said on Sunday.

According to Nasser Ghofli, the director of the Association, 400 school-building charities have been registered in the country so far.

Iran has many school-building benefactors amounting to 650,000 people inside and 1,000 people outside the country.

Benefactors have proposed 28 trillion rials (nearly $102 million) to be included in the budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year (March 2022-March 2023) for building and renovating schools, Mehrollah Rakhshanimehr, director of the Organization for Development, Renovation, and Equipping Schools, said.

School-building donors allocated more than 30 trillion rials (nearly $111 million) to construct educational places nationwide in the [Iranian calendar] year which ended in March 2021.

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