By Sanaullah Ataullah
DOHA: Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) mobilised over QR611m in donations from citizens and expatriates here last year. The collection nearly doubled (jumped by 97%) in 2015 compared to previous year’s QR310m.
RAF’s expenses also rose by a remarkable 60% totaling QR520m in 2015. QR101m was spent within Qatar, while QR418.6 overseas. A fairly large portion (QR210m) was spent on the Syrians. Some 6.7 million Syrians, including those displaced within the country and those who fled and took shelter in neighbouring countries and Europe, benefited from RAF’s largesse.
More than QR101m spent in Qatar providing support to needy families and expatriate workers. They were provided basic food items as well as ready-to-eat food. Social projects were also launched, especially for the Qatari community like mass marriages.
In a recent initiative, some 1,000 people are to be supported to tie the knot. Nearly half the expenses (47 percent) were dedicated to humanitarian aid (relief) provided by RAF in all over the world, followed by charitable construction projects (which exhausted 29 percent expenses).
Some 14 percent of the expenditure in the year was spent on education and 10 percent on social care.
Details were given by RAF officials while releasing the charitable body’s annual report.
The event was attended by Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani Al Thani, Chairman, RAF; Sheikh Abdullah bin Thani Al Thani, Chief Guest; Rashid Khalikov, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Partnerships for the Middle East and Central Asia; and Khalid bin Abdul Wahid Al Hammadi, Director-General, Regulatory Authority for Charitable Works.
“We have expanded our charity activities and launched initiatives on regional and international levels, especially in the education, health and social development sectors in and outside Qatar,” Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani Al Thani said, adding priority is being given to humanitarian aid for the needy.
“Qatar has emerged among the top 20 donor countries in the world due to its humanitarian support, under the directives of and wise leadership of the country,” said Rashid Khalikov.
He praised RAF and said, “RAF has played a key role in providing financial support for humanitarian causes and held joint sessions to train workers in the humanitarian sector”.
Last year, RAF reached 90 countries across the world with projects benefiting over 12.7 million people, said Ayed Dabsan Al Qahtani, General Manager and Chairman, Board of Trustees, RAF.
RAF executed 1,156 projects in Asia (QR285.8m), 2,092 in Africa (QR128m), 34 in Europe (QR4.4m) and two projects in the US (QR1.5m), said Al Qahtani.
The Peninsula
