QC Implements Tens of Qualitative Income-Generating Projects in Somalia

Through its office in the Strip and in cooperation with Ghaith for Relief and Development, QC has recently started implementing ‘Providing Drinking Water’ project to the poor. More than 3,000 poor families are expected to benefit from it. It will take around 8 months for the project to be implemented at a cost of 262,000 QR.

Kidney Diseases

The Municipalities in the Strip provide the citizens with salty water only, which could cause many different diseases such as kidney diseases. Therefore, QC decided to implement this project in order to provide the poor families with good drinking water.

Eng. Mohammed Abu Halloub, QC’s Office Director in the Strip, said that this project is being implemented because QC wants to alleviate the sufferings of those who cannot afford to get good drinking water, and to prevent the diseases spread because of water pollution. He also emphasized the fact that water projects are on the top QC’s priorities’ list since the siege and the attacks on the Strip have destroyed all of the water networks, which were not even sufficient.

QC, as he also mentioned, will not spare an effort until it has helped the needy families and offered a good living opportunities for the needy; whether through relief or development projects.

Water Crisis

The Strip’s aquifer is both polluted and empty which made the Strip suffer from a dire water crisis. As a result, the Gazan families who are financially stable buy filtered water, while the poor families still use the brackish water provided by the municipalities.

To help face this crisis, QC is implementing a project to filter rainwater and to inject it into the aquifer in around 30 public schools.

The UN had already warned from the worsening situation of water in the Strip. According to the UN’s report, if the current conditions remain the same, the situation in 2016 will be catastrophic. The Strip is in great need for desalination plants a hundred times more than roads.

Reconstruction of Gaza

After all the destruction and wreckage the last aggression on the Strip caused, QC spared no effort to help rebuild the Strip.

More than 2,000 people were martyred during the aggression, 11,200 were injured, and thousands of families, whose houses were demolished, were displaced. Furthermore, many infrastructure facilities such as roads, hospitals, schools, and factories were destroyed.

The last brutal attack on the Gaza Strip caused the loss of so many people, houses, and facilities. 2,139 were martyred: 579 of them were children, 264 of them were women, and 102 were elders. 11,200 people were injured: 25% of them became handicapped. 1,000 children became permanently disabled. 2,088 women, 3,374 children and 410 old people were injured. 1,200 families lost their breadwinners. 90 families were entirely eliminated and 49 massacres were executed.

In addition, 466,000 citizens were displaced, 2,360 houses were completely destroyed, 13,644 houses were partly destroyed, 30,000 workers lost their jobs, and 134 factories were completely demolished. The destruction of Gaza cost a financial loss of 3,500,000,000 USD.

You can donate to support such projects through the link: Click here

• The aids are sufficient for the refugees and returnees for a month
• Members of the Somali Parliament and Representatives of the Yemeni community contributed in the distribution

Through its office in Somalia and as part of its relief campaign “Yemen, We are With You”, QC implemented an urgent relief project which targeted 600 families of the Yemeni refugees in Somalia and some of the Somali returnees from Yemen who are living in Mogadishu, Hargeisa, and Bosaso.

The food baskets, distributed to the beneficiaries, were sufficient for a whole month. Each family received 25 kg of rice, 25 kg of flour, 15 kg of sugar, 3 liters of cooking oil, 2.5 kg of powder milk, and 2 kg of dates.

Prominent Figures

Many prominent figures took part in the distribution of the aids to the people, including some members of the Somali parliament, and the representatives of the Yemeni community in Somalia. They all commended QC’s role in helping the Yemeni and Somali peoples.

This is one of so many other projects in which QC continues to fulfill its role in aiding and helping others. In addition, QC always makes sure that its beneficiaries are the neediest. The Yemeni people are suffering from a dire crisis which forced the families to emigrate and ask for asylum. This, of course, left the families without any living necessities. 

Although Somalia is suffering from hard conditions and security issues, it became one of the countries which received the Yemeni refugees. Therefore, it is now the responsibility of those who work in charity and humanitarian fields to strengthen their efforts so that Somalia does not suffer from a critical condition, too. 

130,000 Beneficiaries

130,000 beneficiaries benefited from QC’s continuous campaign ‘Yemen, We Are with You’ since the recent Yemen crisis started and until the end of last May (2015).

The food aid included 17,300 food baskets, 80 tons of flour, and 180 tons of different types of food which were distributed to the different governorates. Furthermore, 3 kitchens were prepared and equipped with foodstuff to provide daily fresh meals for 1,000 persons. Regarding healthcare, the hospitals of Aden, Ma’rib, and Taiz were supplied with some equipment, 100 first-aid bags, and a large amount of medications, and medical disposables.

In addition, 8 water tanks were distributed in Aden with the capacity of 1,000 liters.  QC also distributed hundreds of mattresses and blankets to the displaced families there. Another project was funded to clean Aden Municipality in cooperation with its workers. 

Call for Help

It is worth mentioning that when the Yemeni crisis started, QC appealed for help to provide 1,260,000 conflict-affected people with food, and medications.

After its appeal and as a first step, QC launched its campaign ‘Yemen, We Are with You’ to collect 36,500,000 QR (10,000,000 USD) to urgently deliver these humanitarian aids to the most affected categories.

QC also supervised the distribution of aids which Qatar sent to the people of Yemen. The aids were delivered through an air bridge from Doha to Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport following the instructions of his highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, God bless him. The aids were delivered over two days; there were 4 airplanes which carried 240 tons of different materials.

The aids were received by a delegation of QC which included Mr. Ibrahim Ali Abdullah, QC's Relief Department Director, and Mohammed Wa'i, QC's Office Director in Yemen.

QC’s field team was able to aid many conflict-affected families since the crisis first started in Aden and other Yemeni cities. They provided the families with food, drugs, and medical disposables. They sent the medical supplies to the hospitals so that they would treat the injured. The team also provided the families with food baskets and other basic and necessary items.

You can donate to support such projects through the link:  Click here

• 43,200 conflict-affected in Syria, 4,200 orphans’ families in Gaza, 120,000 people from different countries benefited from ‘Your Sacrifice, their Eid’ campaign
• El Kuwairi: “We thank the Qatari people for donating to our sacrifices project which made the needy of 52 countries the world over happy

Around 1,000,000 people benefited from the sacrifices campaign for the year 1436 AH which QC implemented and called ‘Your Sacrifices, their Eid’ at a cost of around 14,000,000 QR.

Mr. Youssef Bin Ahmed El Kuwairi, QC’s CEO, expressed the relief he felt because the sacrifices project was successful. QC implemented this campaign with the help of its partners in 52 countries from around the world, including Qatar. It was able to make so many needy and low-income families, who could not provide their children with meat, happy.

The affected who suffered from exceptional circumstances were prioritized such as the Syrians inside Syria, the Syrian refugees in the neighboring countries, the Gaza Strip, Yemen, Somalia, etc.

El Kuwairi said, “I am mostly thankful to those who donated for this project in Qatar, and I pray Allah that He accept their good work and reward them. Most certainly, their donations were the reason behind making the needy happy and achieving social teamwork in Qatar.”

QC had already distributed more than 28,300 sacrifices during the season, which meant 500 tons of meat in 52 countries. More than 43,200 families inside Syria benefited from the project. It was implemented in Damascus and its countryside, Idlib and its countryside, Al Rastan, Al Houla and Talbiseh in the countryside of Aleppo, in the countrysides of Hama, of Lattakia, of Daraa, and Quneitra. In addition, 4,200 orphans’ families from the Gaza Strip and 120,000 Somalis benefited from the project.

Other countries in which the project was implemented:

Palestine, the Palestinian camps abroad, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Burundi, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Tanzania, Mali, Togo, Nepal, India, Chad, Central Africa, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Yemen, Bangladesh, Benin , The Gambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Sri Lanka, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, South Africa, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan , Indonesia, Kosovo, Comoros Islands, Albania, the Philippines, Ghana, Bosnia, Ethiopia, and Georgia.

QC inaugurated a special campaign for pilgrimage and Eid Al Adha for this year (1436 AH). It included distributing the sacrifices inside and outside Qatar, giving people the chance to perform substitute Hajj, and distributing Eid clothing. Tens of thousands of people will benefit from this project.

The project was also implemented inside Qatar on the third and fourth days of Eid Al Adha. 2,500 sacrifices were distributed from which 12,000 people benefited, including 668 sponsored families with limited income.

Some of the Qatari volunteers helped in the distribution. In addition, QC, for the first time, offered delivery service using refrigerated cars. The sacrifices were given to the beneficiaries at their homes in Khor, Al-Shahaniya, Industrial Area (Sanaiya), and other areas inside Qatar.

This project also targeted the orphans’ and the low-income families, the indebted, the laborers, the divorced, Ramila Hospital’s inpatients, the laborers, courts, the bank, the mail, Al Qahira School, Al Cilia territory, and Abu Hamur territory and the Indian, Egyptian, Yemeni and Philippine communities.

You can donate to support such projects through the link:  Click here

• 8 hectares of potato were planted and 133 tons of potato were produced from which 320 families of farmers and laborers benefited
• The farmers of Northern Aleppo harvested 133 tons of potato thanks to QC’s ongoing relief aids whose purpose is to compensate for the food shortage inside Syria.  

 ‘Planting Potato’ project was able to contribute in achieving self-sufficiency for the conflict-affected inside Syria. The project provided the basic foodstuffs at good prices and with good quantities specially that the crisis has been going for long. It provided job opportunities for a number of workers in the field of agriculture so as to satisfy their daily needs and their families’. The project also aimed at making use of the landscapes in a good and useful way.

The implementation of this project took 10 months at a cost of 570,000. 8 hectares of potato were planted and 133 tons were produced. It provided jobs for 320 people.

Renting the Land

Since Syria is in desperate need for foodstuffs, QC made it a priority that 34% of its projects were dedicated for this purpose. It is impossible for anyone to live without food, especially the internally displaced Syrians.

 ‘Potato Planting’ project, implemented by Beyaz Eller (White Hands), is part of the developmental and food projects which aim at compensating for the shortage in foodstuffs from which the people of Syria suffer. It is also implemented to encourage the farmers to go on with farming and to reform arable lands. Fortunately, many people who are originally from this area or have been displaced to it are experienced in the field of agriculture.

Through this project, 8 hectares of enhanced potato were planted. Plus, a contract was signed with the farmers: QC would rent the land from the farmer and sign a cultivation contract with him; or sign a contract with another farmer who has experience in the field; furthermore, QC would secure irrigation water by using rented wells from the same land.

The engineers supervising these projects are experienced and well-acquainted with the environment of the area. Therefore, it is expected that these projects will result in providing wheat and potato at great prices and with good quantities so as to bridge the food gap in Syria.

Redent Control

In order to prevent any plant diseases and to safely grow crops, QC sprayed nitrogen fertilizers and used weed killers. As a result, the corps turned out really good.

Through this project, 50 hectares of enhanced wheat and potato were planted and the procedures of the implementation of the project were the same as the previous one.

Potato is usually planted in the northern countryside in two main seasons: spring (the most important season) from the 10th of February until the 10th of March; taking into consideration the type and the weather during the time of cultivation; and autumn from the 20th of July until the 20th of August. In comparison with autumn, spring produces twice the amount of crops, which means twice the production.

Wheat Cultivation

It is worth mentioning that QC had already implemented an agricultural project for the benefit of the residents of the countryside of Aleppo, Idlib and Al Sahel in Syria. This project led to the investment in 50 hectares for the cultivation of wheat and potato. It was implemented in cooperation with Beyaz Eller at a cost of 900,000 QR.

4,200,000 displaced Syrians and refugees benefited from QC’s projects, which were implemented at a cost of 205,000,000 QR from April 2011 until January 2015.

You can donate to support such projects through the link:  Click here

• The projects included distributing sewing machines, and holding preparatory courses in sewing and embroidery.
• Fatima bint Al Naji, “QC’s project helped me secure a fixed income to ensure for myself and my family a dignified life without having to need anyone.”

10 disabled female-breadwinners benefited from the income-generating project implemented by QC in Mauritania. It included distributing sewing machines and holding preparatory courses on sewing and embroidery.

QC aims at fighting poverty, especially that among the disabled persons and the breadwinners. This project seeks to provide a fixed income to the beneficiaries through their use of the sewing machines, which were given to them after good training.

The disabilities of the benefiting female-breadwinners varied; some of them were handicapped, and others suffered from partial paralysis. 

Many Benefits

The sewing machines were delivered to the disabled women during the honoring ceremony organized by QC in cooperation with Mauritanian Association for Assisting the Handicapped, the partner responsible for the project’s implementation.  

Some of the figures who attended this ceremony are: the head of the Handicapped Persons department in the Ministry of Social Affairs, the mayor assistant of Arafat Municipality in Nouakchott, the head of the Mauritanian Association for Assisting the Handicapped, and QC’s director of Social Care department in QC’s office in Mauritania. 

Mr. Ahmed wild Wihda, Mayor Assistant, expressed his sincere gratitude for the parties which funded and implemented this project. He also expressed his hope for future similar projects so that more people would benefit from them.

Mr. Jamal wild Abdel Jaleel, Head of the Mauritanian Association for Assisting the Handicapped, said, “This kind of projects funded by QC is very important and essential. It has many benefits: it helps fighting poverty, supporting the disabled, and assisting the breadwinners. Such categories need our help and care.”

The Beneficiaries’ Commendations

After the ceremony was over, the officials distributed the sewing machines to the beneficiaries who expressed their deep joy and happiness. They said that the project was superb because it offered them training and sewing machines and that they now had jobs that could help them bring in a fixed income. This way, they said, they could ensure a dignified life for themselves and their families.

Ms. Fatima bin Al Naji, one of the beneficiaries, said, “I cannot express the amount of happiness I am feeling right now. I thank QC and its local partners and the beneficiaries who funded this project. I hope that this is the beginning of something good. Now that I am done with the training and I got a sewing machine, I think I will now embrace life happily.”

Ms. Adada bint Al Sofi said that she felt ready to start working on the sewing machine she received. She also thanked all the philanthropists who helped fund and implement this important project.

Conventional Bakeries

QC had recently implemented a group of income-generating projects in different cities and villages in Brakna, Mauritania. The projects included 8 conventional bakeries from which around 7,000 people benefited.

The bakeries have rooms for bread and dough. The most appropriate kind of ovens to equip these bakeries with was brick ovens because these areas, where the project was implemented, don’t have electricity and because bricks are found excessively and at great prices. Some of the beneficiaries would even get the bricks themselves. As for the construction of the bakeries, they were built according to modern technologies so that they would not suffer from the problems brick bakeries generally face.

The bakeries were built in several cities and villages in Brakna such as Magta-Lahjar, Sangrafaa, Tachott, Taiba, Al Hoda, and Dutti (which is very far, almost isolated).

These bakeries left great impact on the villagers who could now buy bread at cheap prices and at the quantities they desire. Bread, of course, is essential to most of the villagers – it is part of their food.  

You can donate to support such projects through the link:  Click here