Dear Sir,

The holy month of Ramadan is the best time to do charity work. Giving away things we don’t need and which might be useful to others is always a good thing to do. In this context, the Tayf programme of the  Qatar Charity (QC) comes to one’s mind.  It is a great initiative indeed.
Tayf boxes are installed at various locations for people to donate new/used clothes and related items.
I live in a residential complex in Al Wakrah and I often find a lot of useful items ending up in the bins there. And I often feel that anyone can set up an entire house full of  things just by collecting from what is thrown away.
The other day I tried collecting some good materials that I found discarded as I felt they could be of use to financially-struggling parents with babies. I wanted to leave them in Tayf boxes. But some of the things were too big to fit in my car.
As many families are leaving Qatar these days for various reasons, a lot of usable items are being left behind as they are too big for them to carry back home or are finding it hard to sell them off. The clearing staff have no option but to throw these things off.
I request Qatar’s charities  to provide a helpline number so that they could be called to collect them and give them to the needy. People who find such good things in the bins can call the helpline number, asking them to collect them.

CV, (Full name and e-mail address supplied)

Cargo firm gives lame excuses

Dear Sir,

Further to the letter “Poor service by cargo firm” (Gulf Times, June 21)  and the report  “Cargo firms’ service poor, customers complain” (Gulf Times, June 20), I would like to narrate my own  experience with a company.
Its representatives picked up the stuff I was planning to send from my residence in Doha  in mid-December last year.  Six months have passed since then but it is still to be delivered!
I have been in touch with the Doha company’s  agents in Mumbai for information but there has been no satisfactory explanation from them.  
I have also been making  frequent calls to the company’s Doha office, seeking answers. The staff there always give me lame excuses and ask me to wait for a few more days.
My fervent request to the authorities concerned is to take strict action against those cargo companies which don’t fulfil their promises on cargo delivery.

JD, (Full name and address supplied)

US must curb its gun culture

Dear Sir,

The recent massacre at a nightclub in Orlando in the US has horrified the world.  A gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 others inside a nightclub on June 12.
This is not the first time the US is witnessing such a mass shooting.  
These incidents highlight the urgent need for gun control in the US. There are more than 55,000 licensed gun dealers in the US, according to a report. That includes everything from small privately-owned gun shops and sporting goods stores to big chain stores that sell guns. Additionally, there are more than 8,000 pawn shops that are licensed to sell guns.
It is high time the US reviewed its gun licensing policy.

Ramesh G Jethwani, (Address supplied)

Please send us your  letters By e-mail: [email protected]