DOHA: A Qatar Charity delegation has carried out a field visit to inspect housing projects that are being restored and rehabilitated in Bethlehem, Palestine.
The projects are being held in the framework of the third and final phase of the ‘Al Ra’id’ programme implemented in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme.
The delegation included the Director of QC’s Palestine office and Muhammad Raheel Musharraf’s of QC’s sponsorship programme, who visited a number of houses that have been restored in the refugee camps of Dheisheh and Aida and the village of Artas in the city of Bethlehem, as part of the Al Ra’id programme.
QC is providing approximately QR16.5m funding for the programme, which is implemented in three phases over three years, two of which have been completed to date.
The programme is providing aid to the Palestinians across several areas, including housing and restoration of housing, health and education, in addition to economic empowerment and income-generating projects. The amount of QR3.146m has been allocated within the framework of the program for the rehabilitation and restoration of 143 houses for poor families, helping to alleviate their suffering.
The aim of the delegation’s visit was to learn about the latest developments relating to the work of restoration and rehabilitation and to listen to the views of the owners of these houses, their circumstances and most urgent needs.
The beneficiaries expressed their sincere gratitude to QC, its partners and all those involved in the project, which has made it possible for them to access decent housing again after their homes were either partially or totally destroyed; having a significant positive impact on their lives.
On the side-lines of the field visit, the delegation met with Sheikh Hatem Al Bakri, Head of the Islamic Charitable Society, which directly oversees the implementation of the programme. The meeting included a number of Islamic charity staff and project engineers, who are involved in the restoration and rehabilitation project, in order to discuss the progress of work and any follow-up developments and successes or failures.
The programme is the result of a tripartite agreement between QC, the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, and the United Nations Development Programme, designed to improve the lives of the Palestinian people. The program is implemented in three phases over three years, two of which have been completed to date.
The agreement stipulates that the IDB is the main financier of the programme, with QC contributing $1.5m (around QR5.475m) annually with a total contribution of QR16.425m.
QC follows the implementation of the programme through its field office in Palestine and with the support of the United Nations who will implement the program in cooperation with competent local institutions such as the Islamic Charitable Society and others.
The program aims to provide assistance to poor Palestinian families, including QC sponsored families and covering several areas, such as housing renovation involving the restoration of old and damaged homes and rehabilitation including adding rooms, such as kitchens and bathrooms, and providing necessary furniture. And within the framework of the health sector, provision of health care, health insurance and emergency surgery for the benefit of poor households.
The Peninsula
