Qatar Charity (QC) has recently honoured outstanding students, who are under QC's sponsorship, at its educational projects in Tirana, capital city of Albania.

The ceremony was attended by Charg` d'affaires ai at the Qatari Embassy in Albania Awad Habbabi, teachers, presidents of universities, directors of charities and representatives of Arab diplomatic missions in Albania.

Awad Habbabi welcomed the audience and thanked QC for its initiatives in Albania, wishing it development and prosperity.

Qatari school's principal in his speech reviewed school activities and achievements, as well as its role in spreading knowledge in the region.

Esmeralda Ashkiho, member of Albanian parliament, commended the efforts of QC and appreciated the significant results it achieved in education area. She expressed her gratitude for the establishment of the Qatari school.

"All of us know the significant role played by QC, especially in education, and we thank QC for its support. We also thank teachers and students of the Qatari school," she added.

Outstanding students received prizes in the presence of their family members. They appreciated QC for its efforts in the education sector.

QC's office in Albania was opened in 1993. It works in three areas, including social welfare, under which more than 2500 orphans have been sponsored; education, by establishing the Qatari school which conducts classes from first grade to third secondary; and the Albanian Qatari Centre for languages and computer, which benefits more than 1,800 students with classes in English, Arabic, German, Italian, French and Spanish languages.

The centre also provides specialised courses in accounting and engineering programmes. It serves more than 400 trainees every year. It is rated as one of the best centres in Albania in terms of quality and scientific excellence.

The Qatar Charity Office in Somalia opened a model primary school in the town of Hudur, the south Western Bakool region of Somalia near the border with Ethiopia, aiming to benefit around 350 students, both male and female, during the next academic year.

The school consists of eight classrooms well-equipped with tables and desks for study, a manager's office, a teacher's room and two toilets.

The opening of the school came as part of the QC’s interest in education to improve personal and professional lives of Somali people. 

Director of Qatar Charity Office in Somalia Abdel Nour Mirsal said that education is a strategic direction for Qatar Charity and the most important justification for its intervention in Somalia, as good education can fight poverty and eradicate illiteracy.

The Deputy Education Officer of the South West State of Somalia, Mohammed Abdullah Sharif, Educational Affairs Officer of the town of Hudur, Abdul Qader Nour and an elite group of people of the city participated in the opening ceremony and they praised the role of Qatar Charity in Somalia and its Charitable and Development Projects, which resulted in the establishment of this school

The First of Its Kind

This educational project is the first of its kind in the town of Hudur, where people did not receive educational services and there were almost no places to study, due to its location on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu, which makes it a harder place to reach than others.

Rehabilitation of Schools

It is worth mentioning that Qatar Charity has signed a cooperation agreement with UNHCR to reintegrate Somali returnees and displaced persons, which will help remove many obstacles and constraints that prevent children and young people from getting primary and secondary education.

The project, proposed under the agreement, will rehabilitate existing or newly established schools or build new schools in the targeted areas of return. The scope of work will include, but is not limited to, the construction or rehabilitation of classrooms, in addition to the construction or rehabilitation of sports facilities.

In a related context, the UNHCR, in cooperation with Qatar Charity, will build 6 schools with 24 classrooms along with a fully equipped educational area at a cost of $ 1,683,100.

Earlier, the QC’s Office in Somalia rehabilitated many thousands of the floods and cyclones victims in the Middle Shabelle Region and managed to rehabilitate 3 schools, equipped with study tools, materials and aids through its early recovery programs.

Since its establishment until the end of last year, the office has implemented 465 Educational Projects, which has benefited more than 190,000 students.

Hundreds of thousands of students at the primary, secondary and university levels benefited from various Educational Projects implemented by Qatar Charity (QC) in the Gaza Strip during the period 2009-2017, at a total cost of $14.5mn.

The value and quality of the projects completed over the last 8 years reflect QC’s keenness to attach a great attention and give priority to education, as it is one of the basic pillars of the sustainable development of societies, especially in poverty and unemployment-stricken areas of Gaza.

Educational projects carried out under the direct supervision of QC’s office in Gaza include building new schools, expanding existing schools, maintaining and repairing damaged schools, providing them with scientific laboratories and solar energy, expanding the buildings of universities and rehabilitating their facilities.

Rehabilitation of Schools

During the period 2009-2010, a project was implemented to rehabilitate schools and provide them with sanitation facilities and teaching tools. The project included the maintenance of 6 damaged schools, the construction of new sanitation facilities for 5 schools, the maintenance of sanitation facilities for 14 schools, the removal of rubble from 11 schools, and the provision of equipment and devices for educational facilities. The project, implemented at a cost of $1mn and benefited 33,189 students.

In 2011, another project was implemented to rehabilitate and maintain schools, benefiting 18 primary and secondary schools in various areas of the Gaza Strip in order to create a better educational environment. The project worth over half a million dollars benefited more than 17,500 students.

In the same year 2011, two new schools were built, and existing schools were expanded by adding 139 classrooms and wings in 11 schools. The cost of this project amounted to $3.5mn and benefited 9,000 students.

Training Centers

During the period 2011-2012, two specific projects were carried out, which included the provision of the necessary equipment and tools to scientific laboratories at the faculties of science and engineering, and the establishment of 3 training centers for teachers.

The first project covered 5 departments of the faculties of science at the Islamic University and several departments of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at Al-Azhar University in Gaza for the benefit of 10,000 students.

The second project covered the establishment and furnishing of 3 training centers for teachers of the Ministry of Education.  Each center spreads over an area of 900 square meters. Both projects were implemented at cost of $2.5mn for the benefit of 12,000 students.

University Buildings

During the period 2012-2013, a project for the facilities and services of Al-Quds Open University was completed at a cost of $1.3mn approximately. The project involved the construction of the third floor for the university building in North Gaza on an area of 900 square meters. The project also included building two floors covering a space of 2,400 square meters, which include classrooms, resources and facilities in the Rafah Educational Zone.

During the period 2013-2015, the Ghazi Al-Shawa School in Beit Hanoun has been rehabilitated, adding educational facilities and providing computers, devices and office equipment. The project included the construction of 9 classrooms, the finishing of 15 buildings of scientific laboratories, computer labs, library, etc., and the tiling of squares and walls, at a cost of $600,000.

Building Schools

During the 2013-2017, Qatar Charity worked on rehabilitating the scientific laboratories of 60 public schools and providing them with equipment and office supplies. The project was valued at $1.5mn.

In the same period, the classrooms of Al-Aqsa University were rehabilitated, which included the construction and finishing of 34 classrooms, and other necessary works, at a value of $ 1.5mn. A solar power supply project was also implemented for 14 government schools and 4 UNRWA schools, at a total cost of $1.5mn.

One of the most recent educational projects completed by Qatar Charity in Gaza is Kamal Al-Ahoud Primary School (August 2017). The school was built on an area of 575 square meters and it includes 11 classrooms, scientific laboratories, computer labs, a stadium, and many more things. This project was implemented at a cost of more than $600,000.

Humanitarian Indicators

According to international statistics, there is still a need to implement more education projects in the Gaza Strip, as around 400 schools there operate on a double-shift basis daily and there 50 students in each classroom of many government  and UNRWA schools.

As the “Gaza, the Right to Live” campaign continues, Qatar Charity urges good doers to actively participate in supporting QC’s educational projects and its humanitarian and development efforts to ease the hardship of the people in Gaza and meet their various basic needs.

How to Donate

More information on QC’s projects within the framework of the “Gaza the Right to Live” campaign, launched under the supervision of the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA), is available on QC’s website and App as well as such information can be requested by dialing QC’s hotline 44667711.

Mobile donating is available. To donate QR 100, QR 500 and QR 1,000, please send an SMS with code (Gaza) to 92624, 92428 and 92429 respectively.

The benefactors can also contribute to the campaign by directly making donations at Qatar Charity's headquarters, its branches and collection points located in commercial complexes within the country.

Also, people can easily donate to the campaign through QC’s website (https://www.qcharity.org)  and App (qch.qa/q/app).