Mohammed Salah has donated around $155,000 to help rebuild a church in Giza, Egypt where a fire outbreak killed 41 people on Sunday, 14th of August, 2022.
At least 41 people died while dozens were injured after a fire broke out at a Coptic church in the city of Giza, near Cairo, Egypt. The tragedy happened at around 9 a.m. local time when around 5,000 worshippers gathered at the Abu Sifin church for Sunday Mass.
The Egyptian and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has donated three million Egyptian pounds ($155,000) to help rebuild the affected church in his home country.
Social media channels in Egypt were full of messages of gratitude to the beloved footballer for his kind donation.
The donation was confirmed by prominent Egyptian sports reporter Ibrahim Abdel Gawad, who joined many others in appreciating Mohammed Salah in a Facebook post.
Mohammed Salah has been recognized by many as one of the most generous celebrities in Egypt and a cheerful giver. He was ranked in June 2022 by a UK newspaper “The Sunday Times” as the eighth most charitable person in Britain. The newspaper estimates that he has recently given away some £2.5million which is equivalent to six percent of his estimated £41m net worth.
One of his most notable donations happened in 2019 when he gave away £3m to the National Cancer Institute in Cairo after a terrorist attack that had 20 casualties and injured dozens.
The Egyptians have also helped build a hospital, school, youth center, and ambulance unit in Nagrig, as well as provided five acres of land for a waste treatment plant, allowing residents to have a safe source of clean water.
He gave 12 million Egyptian pounds worth of equipment to one of the prominent children’s cancer hospitals in Egypt. He was also spotted in 2019 in Liverpool during the Covid-19 pandemic paying fuel bills of some fans.
The cause of the fire outbreak at the Giza church in Egypt was believed to have started by an electrical fault in an air conditioning unit. The flame blocked an exit and caused a stampede, leading to the death of many adults including at least 18 children.
However, Mr. Naguib Sawiris, an Egyptian business icon has a contrary opinion about the cause of the fire as he claimed the fire was not an accident but arson and he would not offer his condolences until the culprit is apprehended.
On the other hand, a renowned Egyptian cardiologist, Dr. Gamal Shaban wrote on his Facebook to criticize the business mogul, Mr. Sawiris, for only publicizing his opinion and not contributing to the donations.
He said: “You want to know the culprit? You are the real culprit. For neglecting your charity work, not taking care of the poor, and only really investing in film festivals. Mohamed Salah donated 3 million to the church, how much have you donated?”
The former later replied by commenting on another social media user’s tweet, named Azza, who shared the same sentiment as the latter. Mr. Sawiris said he gives to charity but he doesn’t make public his donations. He tweeted: “I don’t make public my donations, Azza”.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also offered his warm condolences to the victims of the fire outbreak in the Giza church. He shared this on his Twitter handle, saying: “sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims that have passed on to be with their Lord in one of his houses of worship”.
The Egyptian president has ordered the armed forces to rebuild the church – a process that will now be aided by Salah’s donation.
