King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia has donated over $100 million to the United Nations' (UN) food relief program for Syrian refugees, Sputnik News reported.
The king's donation of $104 million came days after the international organization announced that it has decided to suspend its humanitarian campaign due to lack of funds.
In an effort to re-launch the campaign, the U.N.'s World Food Program unveiled a fund raising campaign through social media to reach the goal of $64 million. In a matter of days, the campaign collected $1.8 million from the public while donations from other countries reached a total of $80 million, according to Newsweek.
"This outpouring of support in such a short time is unprecedented," World Food Program executive director Ertharin Cousin said in a statement.
"We're especially grateful to the many individual members of the public who reached into their own pockets to send whatever they could to help Syrian refugees who have lost everything," the director added. "They showed that even as little as a dollar can make a difference."
On Wednesday, King Abdullah bulked up the World Food Program's funds by donating $104 million. The spokesperson of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon issued a statement to thank the king for his generous donation.
"The Secretary-General expresses profound gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for his personal compassion and commitment to help those in need - irrespective of their faith, sect or ethnicity - through his generous contribution of US$104 million to the United Nations World Food Program," the statement read.
According to the release, the king's donation will be used to help refugees from Syria, South Sudan and Somalia who have been staying in Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.
The World Food Program operates by distributing electronic vouchers to each member of the refugee families. The vouchers, which contain $30 dollars each, can be used by the refugees to purchase food items from nearby establishments.
Since the program costs $64 million a month to maintain, the donations from various nations, individuals and the king will go a long way in allowing the UN to continue helping the refugees.
