Qatar Charity inks QR1mn WASH agreement with OCHA

QC holds special ‘education an

The event was held alongside a United Nations event and was attended by a number of important figures and representatives of international organizations, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations Assistant for partnerships in the Middle East and Central Asia, Rashid Khalikov, and involving the participation and support of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, which provided all the facilities and technical and logistical support for the event.

Mr/Mohammed bin Ali Al-Ghamdi, Executive Director for International Development at QC, said that the event met with considerable praise, pointing to the importance of QC’s desire to highlight the role of education in promoting social harmony in post-conflict areas such as Somalia, Sri Lanka and Bosnia.

Rashid Khalikov congratulated QC on its efforts and thanked the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar's for its contribution.

He added “Education during emergencies is a human subject, pointing out that the provision of education decreases the risk of violence and conflict. He then highlighted that the importance of education should not stop at children and young people but it should reach parents equally for the life continuation feeling it provides.

Program of the session

The session was initiated by Al-Ghamdi who welcomed the attendees before playing an introductory video about QC, followed by the submission of papers by experts from international organizations and institutions and academics from four universities. The first axis provided a general background on the event theme of ‘The role of education in promoting social harmony’, the second was entitled ‘what is expected from education in terms of the re-modeling of social harmony in the post-conflict areas?’, the third included case studies from Somalia, Sri Lanka and the fourth and last discussion covered education and its impact on conflicts as well as society.

The first axis

“The role of education in promoting social harmony, the main theme of this event, covers a range of issues, namely: the reality of conflicts across the world and their effects, conflict resolution and peace-sustainability efforts, conflict and issues connected to social cohesion, education and the promotion of social harmony and the challenges facing the harnessing of education in promoting social harmony,” Al Ghamdi said, concluding that the first axis posed a range of questions, answered by the following axes.

The second axis

the second axis was presented by Dr/Mohammed Sharqawi, Professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, and included a definition of social harmony in terms of academic and research based social theories. Sharqawi discussed the relationships between social harmony, identity, economic interests, marital status and belonging to a group or community.

Prof.Sharqawi spoke of a Bosnian case, providing a practical example of how to adapt the tool of education in order to achieve and promote social harmony in a country like Bosnia, which suffered from ethnic and religious conflict for over five years, leading to the murder and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and tearing apart the social fabric of the communities.

The session ended with proposals for education re-modeling before social harmony by focusing on three key factors: redesign of the curriculum and reviewing the curricula of existing decisions, by focusing on primary and secondary education as a sustainable Peace factor, and finally, promoting and spreading the culture of equal citizenship.

The third axis

As for case studies, Mr.Abdul Rahman Sharif, Head of Non-Governmental organizations in Somalia, used Somalia as a model, including background on the country and explaining that in reality the country is divided into three areas; Somaliland (independent), Portland (autonomous) and southern Somalia, including the capital, Mogadishu.

Sharif spoke about the conflict in Somalia and the different types of conflict. His paper considered the implications of the collapse of the education system in many areas of Somalia. He went on to consider some of the initiatives in the revival of the educational process and the use of different types of education as tools to promote social harmony and a culture of peace, ending with recommendations and proposals on strengthening and unifying the educational system in order to promote a culture of peace and social harmony.

Miss/Stephanie Licht, head of evaluation and follow-up in the German agency GIZ, gave a presentation on the Sri Lankan case, covering the German experience through the program supported by the German government and which has been in place since 2005, i.e. during and after the conflict. The program achieved outstanding results in terms of social harmony through education. The Sri Lankan situation can be characterised by its similarity to the current conflicts in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen in terms of ethnic, religious, sectarian and ethnic diversity, with differences in culture, religious beliefs and even language.

The program focused on secondary education, where numerous approaches and curricula were used at the beginning of the program through its application to a sample of schools reached 200 schools before ruling out a combination of these approaches that have proven to be of no importance or unfeasible in achieving social harmony, along with the adoption of approaches, which contributed to its promotion.

Among the most important program success factors were the contribution and participation of the government and its complete conviction of the program importance, the desire of local authorities for the success of the program, the contribution and participation of local communities in the program and their interaction with it, and finally the use and adoption of a multi-level approach (government, region (province), schools) during the design and application.

The program focused on three issues involving curriculum design: social and psychological care (to address the effects of violence and conflict on the target groups), education of the second nationality (Sinhala, Tamil) in secondary education, and peace and the values of education. At the end of the paper Licht spoke of the positive results achieved, backing them up with numbers and statistics.

The fourth axis

Axes four and five were introduced by Dr. Alan Codman, President of the International Institute of Education in New York. Codman presented some important information about education and the conflict-affected and vulnerable, particularly students and teachers.

He spoke of the importance of involving local people in the planning of finding solutions to the problems of education in their respective countries, as well as the need to be supportive of the political administration of the educational process and to support the importance of the resumption of education in conflict zones.

Codman’s talk focused on three key issues in education in conflict zones: protecting teachers, the training and enabling of teachers in places of conflict and focusing on the dropout of students and their immediate return and reintegration into education.

link link

QC provides food relief to Som

Qatar Charity (QC) has distributed dry food supplies to 1,000 Somali Refugee Families living in the Dadaab camp in Kenya to help them cope with the acute food shortage.

The distribution of food supplies was carried out at a cost of QR 200,000 through QC’s field office in the country in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is responsible for managing these camps.

The relief was provided as part of a joint campaign launched by Qatar Charity and UNHCR last April to raise more than $9.6mn to reach out to 100,000 people.

The campaign is aimed at helping Somali returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and integrating them with receiving communities by rehabilitating the public infrastructure in the fields of health, education, shelter, water, and sanitation.

UNHCR and Qatar Charity seek to enable Somali returnees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and receiving communities to have access to education; and reintegrate them through the establishment of a public infrastructure that will assist in rehabilitation and construction in order to promote peaceful coexistence and self-reliance.

Also, both parties seek to provide access to basic services in the areas of return; so that Somali returnees, displaced persons and receiving communities can achieve appropriate conditions of stability.

Qatar Charity has chosen Dadaab camp, one of the oldest refugee camps in the world, due to the need for food support, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. The relief project has targeted 1,000 refugee families in the camp, providing a food basket to each family. The basket includes rice, sugar, flour, oil and powdered milk.

The implementation of this project came at a time when refugees living in Dadaab camps faced a shortage of Ramadan food supplies, as most of them depend on food aid provided by humanitarian organizations, especially WFP.

This assistance was the first aid to many needy and poor families in the refugee camps, as it was provided during the last ten days of Ramadan.

The Dadaab camp was established in northeastern Kenya on the border with Somalia in 1991 when the civil war broke out in Somalia. However, the number of refugees in the camp rose to about 500,000 due to drought occurred in Somalia during 2011. With the start of a voluntary repatriation campaign for Somali refugees, the number now stands at 250,000.

link link

Qatar Charity continues to eas

Qatar Charity continues to ease Syrians’ plight

During the last few years, Qatar Charity (QC), in cooperation and coordination with the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA) and in partnership with many organizations, have launched many Relief Campaigns to continue to Support Syrian people within their country and the countries of asylum.

These campaigns aimed at meeting the urgent needs of the Syrian people struggling to survive under challenging humanitarian situations.

Recently, a delegation from Qatar Charity has distributed the first batch of urgent aid directly to the displaced in the country, and refugees in Turkish areas bordering Syria, in view of one of the largest Syrian displacements since 2011. The aid included 200 tons of relief materials worth over 14 million riyals to benefit 864,618 people. Another delegation is expected to deliver the second batch of aid to the Syrian vulnerable.

It is worth mentioning that the ‘Arsal Relief’ campaign, launched last year by Qatar Charity under the supervision of RACA, has benefited hundreds of thousands of people in Syria and the countries of asylum, focusing on providing urgent relief to those affected by snowstorms, frost and rain.

Last year, the needs of the Syrian people within their country and in the countries of asylum amounted to nearly 9 billion dollars, of which only 4 billion dollars were raised, meaning that only 42% of the 2019 needs were met, according to a UN report.

It is worth mentioning that during the last three months, according to United Nations, more than 900,000 people, 80% of them women and children, have been displaced, in addition to half a million children, who have also been displaced.

link link

Qatar Charity urges people to

Qatar Charity urges people to contribute to “Sham Deserves” campaign for Syrians

Qatar Charity (QC), urged people to contribute to the national campaign named “Shams Deserves” launched in partnership with the Qatar Media Corporation to Provide Urgent Relief Aid to Syrian people in their country and he countries of asylum.

The campaign came within the framework of moral and humanitarian duty in response to the worsening humanitarian situation following the largest displacement in Syria in the past three months.

Launched on February 19, 2020, under the supervision of the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA), the “Sham Deserves” campaign aims to deliver assistance to 250,000 Syrian refugees and displaced persons in the areas of shelter, food, water, sanitation, and health.

The campaign is implemented by Qatar Charity, in cooperation with the Qatar Media Corporation, Qatar Television, Qatar Radio, Sout Al Khaleej Radio, Alkass Sports Channels, Alrayyan TV, and Alrayyan Radio.

The campaign will include a joint live TV and radio broadcast on Friday and Saturday, February 28, and 29, 2020, by many media corporations to raise donations, in addition to some activities that will be held in commercial complexes.

Given the difficult humanitarian situation of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), Qatar Charity urges benefactors in Qatar to contribute to the “Sham Deserves” campaign to ease their hardship, as they are struggling to survive under the very harsh cold weather, heavy rains, frosts, and snow. It also calls on media persons and social media influencers to publicize the campaign.

Benefactors can make their contributions to the campaign in many forms, including money, jewelry, and vehicle.

In conjunction with the campaign, a delegation from Qatar Charity has recently distributed urgent aid to the displaced in the country, and refugees in Turkish areas bordering Syria.

The aid included 200 tons of relief materials worth over 14 million riyals to benefit 864,618 people. Another delegation is scheduled to depart on Friday to provide a second batch of Aid to Syrian Refugees and displaced persons.

The donation in favor of the “Sham Deserves” campaign can easily be made through Qatar Charity’s website, mobile App, 27 branches across the country, and 97 collection points in commercial places. The donors can also request a “home collector” through the mobile App and dial the hotline 44667711 to make their contributions. Mobile donating is also available. To donate QR100, QR200, QR500, and QR100, please send an SMS with the code “SOS” to 92642, 92015, 92428, and 92429, respectively.

link link

On World Refugee Day Qatar Cha

On World Refugee Day

Qatar Charity: Humanitarian interventions and continuous partnerships for refugees

8,240,585 IDPs and refugees benefited globally from Qatar Charity's relief projects from January 2019 to 15 June 2020
From 2019 to date, Qatar Charity has signed 16 agreements on refugee protection with several international organizations

Qatar Charity (QC) affirmed its continued keenness to ensure a dignified life for refugees throughout the world, and to work on easing their sorrow by implementing projects and initiatives through its field offices or in cooperation with partners like international and local organizations.

This comes on the World Refugee Day, which is observed June 20 each year to raise awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world, and this year, the day is being observed under the theme “Every Action Counts”.

Qatar Charity's relief and humanitarian intervention included providing winter aid and basic assistance in the fields of food, shelter, health, education, water, and social cohesion.

These projects benefited refugees and internally displaced people from several countries including Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Myanmar, and Somalia, in addition to Rohingya refugees.

Achievements

The total cost of the projects implemented by Qatar Charity for refugees and the displaced from January 2019 to June 15, 2020 is nearly 581 million riyals, benefiting 8,240,585 people.

Syria received the largest portion of assistance provided by Qatar Charity during this period due to the tragic situation of the displaced and Syrian refugees. This assistance amounted to more than 314 million Qatari riyals and benefited nearly 2.8 million people.

International Partnerships

From 2019 to date, Qatar Charity has signed 16 agreements on refugee protection with several international organizations, namely the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNICEF and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The affected of many countries such as Yemen, Bangladesh, and Syria, have benefited from these agreements.

It is worth mentioning that Qatar Charity is linked to a four-year strategic cooperation agreement signed with UNHCR in Geneva in 2017, which aims at providing financial resources for refugee relief projects, and jointly funding them by both parties, with at least 3 million dollars annually.

These agreements have targeted several areas such as health care, water, education, food, and livelihoods.

Fighting COVID-19

Qatar Charity (QC), since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, signed various cooperation agreements with several international organizations to contribute to the global efforts to limit the spread of the virus and provide emergency assistance to those affected, including refugees.

Qatar Charity, in cooperation with UNHCR, began providing emergency assistance to Syrian refugees throughout Lebanon in response to the humanitarian needs resulting from the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, as part of the $1.5 million signed between two parties.

Under the cooperation with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Qatar Charity has started to establish 14 community-based isolation units in northern Syria to benefit 2,800 people of camps at a total cost of US$1.6 million.

Qatar Charity worked with UNICEF to maintain access to safe drinking water and sanitation services for the benefit of Syrian refugees in Jordan. The value of the contribution amounted to one million US dollars, in addition to signing other agreements.

Largest Initiative

Last year, Qatar Charity launched the "For Humanity" initiative in cooperation with the UNHCR to provide aid to more than 300,000 refugees from Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria, in addition to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

The ‘For Humanity (4H)’ is the Largest Humanitarian Relief initiative to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable refugees across the globe, and ensure they are safe, healthy and well-fed.

link link

Sudan receives 7-ton shipment

Sudan receives 7-ton shipment of medical aid from Qatar Charity

Sudan received a plane with a seven-ton shipment of Medical Aid worth two million riyals from Qatar Charity (QC), in cooperation with Sudanese working in Qatar. The aid included personal protective equipment and materials for the medical staff working on the COVID-19 frontline in the country.

The federal Minister of Health, Dr. Akram Ali Al-Toam, received the assistance on Saturday at the Khartoum Airport, in the presence of Acting Charge d'Affairs to the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Sudan Talal Farhan Al Anzi.

The minister thanked the State of Qatar's government, people, and Qatar Charity for their permanent standing with Sudan and providing them with the aid that would protect the health personnel working on the COVID-19 frontline from infection, underlining that the relationship between the two countries is historic.

He also noted that Qatar has been supportive of Sudan in the Cholera Control Campaign, has always provided aid, and still is delivering financial and technical assistance.

Acting Charge d'Affairs to the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Sudan Talal Farhan Al Anzi pointed out that this assistance comes within the framework of the distinguished relations between the two brotherly countries and fraternal ties between the State of Qatar and Sudan. He also affirmed the State of Qatar's leadership commitment to enhancing those relations in the interest of both countries.

The Director of the office of Qatar Charity in Khartoum, Mr. Hussein Karmash, said the shipment includes100,000 surgical masks, 200,000 gloves, 30,000 protective suits, 5,000 face shields, and 5,000 medical shoes, 30,000 headgear, and 100,000 face masks.

Sudan Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Abbas Fadlallah thanked Qatar Charity for supporting the health sector in Sudan, pointing out that the State of Qatar has always stood with the country to confront disasters.

For his part, Engineer Yasser Sabir, the General Secretary of the Engineers Association and a representative of the professional associations pointed to the great cooperation between the Sudanese associations, the Women's Association of Qatar, Qatar Charity, the Sudanese Embassy in Qatar, and many others to make this campaign successful.

link link

Qatar Charity inks QR1mn WASH agreement with OCHA for northern Syria