The UAE has sent aid to the Peruvian city of Iquitos to help in the battle against Covid-19. WAM An ongoing dialogue between Catholic and Muslim educators took a very concrete turn on June 25 when the United Arab Emirates sent a plane carrying 50 tons of humanitarian aid to a Peruvian city overwhelmed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Vatican News, the plane carried masks, gloves, medical oxygen and food aid that will be distributed by the Apostolic Vicariate of Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon.
Iquitos, a city of close to half a million people, is the capital of the Loreto region. According to the Peruvian health ministry, as of June 16, the region had 7,781 cases of Covid-19 and 316 people had died.
Msgr Guy-Real Thivierge, secretary-general of the Pontifical Foundation Gravissimum Educationis, told Vatican News that the shipment of aid to Peru is the result of collaboration between the Vatican and the United Arab Emirates following Pope Francis’ visit to Abu Dhabi in 2019.
The foundation, which promotes education, and its dialogue partners in the UAE were scheduled to hold a seminar in the spring, but the pandemic forced its cancellation. So, Msgr Thivierge said, they designed a joint project instead.