Arsel Al-Amal (Send Hope) Initiative Continues to Provide School Meals to the Deprived Students in the Middle East

Pizza Hut in Qatar inaugurated “Send Hope” initiative supported by QC to provide school meals to the deprived students in the Middle East by supporting school nutrition projects of the UN’s World Food Programme.

This initiative allows Pizza Hut’s costumers, in all of its branches, in Qatar to donate to ‘School Meals’ project the amount they want. The donation is added to the costumers’ bills. With each Qatari Riyal given, a child will receive a meal at school. These children will have a better future to aspire for.  

Last May, QC and WFP signed an agreement in WFP’s headquarter in Rome, Italy, to fight hunger and malnutrition, and to bolster food security worldwide. This strategic cooperation will strengthen the private sector’s role in the battle against these life-threatening challenges which threaten the lives of millions of people whether in the times of peace or conflict. These challenges also hinder the developmental efforts exerted in many countries.

Abdullah Al-Wardat, WFP’s representative and the Gulf’s Office Director, said, “We sincerely thank Pizza Hut for this great initiative which supports the Programme’s efforts to fight hunger and malnutrition by providing students with school meals in the Middle East. Our strategic cooperation with QC offers a chance to the Qatari private sector’s companies, which understand that fighting hunger and malnutrition is the primary element for their success and for the community’s stability. The companies also understand their moral duty towards the children and the country.”   

In a press release, Sterling Cos’ representative, Pizza Hut franchiser in Qatar, said, “It’s our pleasure to cooperate with QC to implement “Send Hope” initiative. We hope it would help support WFP’s efforts to give meals to more than 2,600,000 needy students in the Middle East. I hope this would bring hope to their hearts; I hope it makes their lives better. Education is essential to build a bright future, especially to those with a limited income.”

Mr. Jassim Al-Mansouri, QC’s Marketing Manager, expressed his gratitude to Pizza Hut for this initiative, and expressed his happiness with this cooperation to serve the school children.  He also showed his great trust in the companies of the private sector in Qatar and how sure he is that more companies will be involved in supporting such initiative. The private sector is known to be very generous and to have a sense of responsibility towards the needy communities around the world. Its efforts will stand as the practical application of the agreement which QC had signed with WFP. “Send Hope” is expected to be well received for its noble goals.

This cooperation between QC and WFP represents an opportunity for the private sector in Qatar to be more involved in supporting the fight against hunger by supporting QC’s and WFP’s campaigns for collecting financial and in-kind contributions according to the procedures of Human Appeal International. Companies are aware of the fact that by fighting hunger, ending malnutrition and bolstering food security, they can achieve success. They are also aware of the moral duty behind such battle.

• 2,500,000 benefited from a huge water project; only 12% had access to drinking water before that.

Garut City in Indonesia suffered from dire shortage of drinking water; its people used to get only 12% of clean water. Now, however, thanks to QC things changed to the better.

QC and Mr. Rudy Gunawan, City Chief, signed an agreement in September 2014. As stated in the agreement, QC would provide 2,500,000 people living in Garut with clean water through digging 350 wells in one year. The project was implemented at a cost of 1,750,000 QR.

Goodbye Water Ponds

Mr. Gunawan said, “The water QC provided the city with entirely replaced the water ponds the people used to use for their wudu’ (ablution), their personal cleanliness and at schools. To be honest, when I signed this agreement last year, I did not expect the project to be this huge! I even told my colleagues that it would be great if they only dug 50 wells. We had met many institutions and I cannot begin to tell you the promises we’ve heard; however, QC did not make any promises. No, QC implemented. QC got the job done. I sincerely thank QC and the philanthropists who spent their money on this project so that our city would get clean water. It is a prevention project that will help protect us from diseases and will help the future of this city.”

The Fruit of Doing Good

Garut city has an area of 300 km2 and a population of 2,500,000 people. It basically depends on agriculture and is considered to be the neediest city for water in Indonesia.

The agreement, signed last year (2014) between QC and the Indonesian government, stated that by the end of September 2015 QC will have dug 350 wells.

The implementation of the project started immediately after the agreement was signed. QC, first, identified the neediest regions and villages for these wells; then started the implementation. Many schools, health centers and mosques benefited from this project.

The inauguration of this project was attended by many officials and senior figures. Each dug well had 5 water taps, and two toilets sometimes.

Mr. Karam Zeinhom, QC’s Office Director in Indonesia, said that such water projects were the fruit of QC’s good doing in Indonesia. “In fact, the services related to people’s lives and health conditions are always a priority,” said he.

QC, as Mr. Zeinhom clarified, does not spare an effort to help the needy in Indonesia; it is part of QC’s humanitarian message to the world. He also added that QC will not stop until it helps its brothers and sisters in Indonesia.

Thousands of Projects

It is worth mentioning that QC’s office has been working in Indonesia for 10 years. The total of the money spent in the past years reached 30,000,000$ (100,000,000 QR). QC had also signed an agreement with the Ministry of Religions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a while ago to renew the work in the humanitarian field for 3 years at a budget of 10,000,000$.

QC recently opened a big educational center after it had built and equipped it at a cost of 2,196,000QR. It was inaugurated in the presence of some officials, senior figures, a representative of the Qatari ambassador in Indonesia, a delegation from QC and the donors.  Mr. Rashidbin Fatis Al Mari, Deputy of QC’s CEO of Global Development, His Excellency Mr. Mohammed Al Badir, Representative of the Qatari Ambassador in Indonesia, and Mohammed Abdul Jaleel Abdul Ghani, Representative of Al Abdul Jaleel family, the donating philanthropists.

QC continues to implement income-generating projects for the benefit of the poor regions in Indonesia. These projects included handing the ownership of sewing machines, distributing dairy cows, and motorcycles to carry goods.

These projects are part of QC’s efforts in developing the targeted communities in Indonesia. It is a kind of support to the universal efforts to achieve the developmental goals for this millennium. In addition, QC seeks to contribute to the achievement of self-sufficiency projects that can get the poor families fixed-income to guarantee their dignity. 

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

Ms. Booth: “I chose QC because I already knew its excellent work in the field of charity in general and for the Palestinians in particular.”

After receiving an invitation from QC, Ms. Lauren Booth, a journalist and British activist, visited QC in Doha so as to work together to support the Palestinian families which suffer from poverty and the siege.

Ms. Booth is considered to be one of the most famous pro-Arab activists who helped break the siege which was imposed by the occupation on the Gaza Strip. She is currently dedicating her life and efforts to guarantee a better life for the Palestinians.

Poverty and Unemployment

Through its one-week visit to QC, Ms. Booth sought to cooperate with QC to help the affected Palestinian families, and to implement economic and social projects for the victims of poverty, unemployment, Israeli attacks and the siege.

During her visit, Ms. Booth met a number of QC’s officials who, together, discussed the sufferings of the Palestinians; especially those living in the Gaza Strip. They also discussed their need for aids and relief campaigns because of the horrible situation they’re living in.

Many QC projects were displayed during the meetings to show the important role of these developmental and relief projects in stabilizing the Palestinian families’ circumstances. Some income-generating projects implemented by QC in Palestine were displayed such as providing dairy cows, sheep, poultry, means of transportation, and others.

These projects helped provide a fixed income for hundreds of Palestinian families, and helped create many job opportunities for the unemployed. In addition, it changed so many families to become productive. As a result, the number of beneficiaries increased. 

Ms. Booth’s visit included attending a number of activities such as participating in an event with the Qatari Business Women Association in cooperation with the Youth for Jerusalem Association, the women’s department; attending a lecture at a Holy Quran memorization center; and visiting some senior figures.

Alleviate the Suffering

Ms. Lauren Booth expressed her happiness for visiting QC and knowing about its different humanitarian projects in Palestine. “After having lived with the Palestinians, I understood exactly how much they suffer and how much help and support they need. Their circumstances are getting worse day by day because of the occupation and the siege. I chose QC because I know about its excellent work in the field of charity in general and for the Palestinians in particular. QC’s projects in Gaza are very important in providing a living for the people there,” said she.  

She also spoke about how when she first went to Palestine, she was surprised to see the amount of suffering the Palestinians were going through, and it was that which made her exert all the efforts she could to help alleviate their sufferings.

“QC’s projects in Palestine are distinguished, and I hope these projects increase in number. I know how generous the Qatari people are; especially when it’s about their brothers and sisters from other countries. These projects, definitely, help the Palestinians and help fight poverty and unemployment,” said Ms. Booth.

A Better Life

It is worth mentioning that QC was recently able to implement thousands of income-generating projects in Palestine which helped thousands of families have a better life. The beneficiaries included widows, orphans, breadwinners, poor people, the unemployed and other needy categories.

QC had also inaugurated ‘We Build Palestine’ campaign to contribute in the development of the Palestinian people inside and outside Palestine as part of ‘Hand in Hand We Build Palestine’ campaign. This campaign finances and implements huge development projects at a cost of 197,826,000QR. It is expected that 1,147,000 people will benefit.

QC’s projects target all of the Palestinians in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Palestinian refugees in the refugees’ camps of Lebanon and Jordan.

 ‘Hand in Hand We Build Palestine’ campaign was first inaugurated as a relief response to the circumstances facing the Palestinians in general and the people living in the Gaza strip in particular; taking into consideration the destruction the last Israeli attack caused. More than 2,000 people were martyred and 11,200 were injured, and thousands of families were displaced and their homes were destroyed.