Qatar Charity distributes winter aid to 639 families in Gaza

Qatar Charity (QC), through its office in the Gaza Strip, has distributed blankets and nylon roof covers to 639 poor families from all over Gaza, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Development.

Some 523 families were recommended by the ministry, while other beneficiaries are those families sponsored by Qatar Charity as part of the social welfare program in Gaza. Each poor family received a winter blanket and 120 square meters of waterproof nylon roof covers.

The aid was distributed through the Ministry of Social Development directly under the supervision of Qatar Charity’s staff.

As the people of the Gaza Strip were in the urgent need for blankets and waterproof nylon roof covers due to the rainwater, Qatar Charity came to implement this project, said Mr. Mohammed Abu Haloub, director of Qatar Charity’s office in the Gaza Strip.

As poor families living under the deteriorating economic situation in the Gaza Strip are not capable of meeting their basic and winter needs, Qatar Charity came to deliver this winter assistance to them, aiming to protect them from the harsh cold and their homes from the rainwater, added Abu Haloub.

The beneficiaries expressed their delight at obtaining these blankets and waterproof roof covers, which would protect their children from the cold, as they said, hoping that Qatar Charity would continuously support them and families in need.

The houses of poor families in the Gaza Strip are either old or zinc-roofed, and require maintenance. The rainwater flows into these houses, bringing additional suffering to the poor during the harsh cold.

The family of Mrs. Amal is one of those families, who have been struggling to evacuate the rainwater pouring into their home every winter. She has been suffering this problem for more than 20 years when she got married and came to live in this dilapidated house.

Mrs. Amal can not sleep properly under a perforated tin roof, due to the fear of water leakage into her mattress and the beds of her children. The suffering repeats itself every winter.

She along with other beneficiaries thanked the people in Qatar for offering services and delivering assistance to the families living under the high poverty and unemployment rates in the Gaza Strip. She expressed her hope for a safe house that would protect her and her family from the rainwater and cold weather.