Qatar Charitable is purifying the rains water in Gaza

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.

The fuel QC provided the Ministry of Health (MOH) with will allow its 13 hospitals to operate perfectly fine. The hospitals have the capacity of 1,588 beds and can now continue to offer their services to the citizens.

QC provided the MOH with 200,000 liters of fuel to avoid a possible humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip’s hospitals. This project was implemented in order to compensate for the dire shortage in electricity which the ministry suffers from. QC provided fuel to operate the generators of the MOH’s facilities. This way the citizens can receive health services without any problems. 

Saving the Day

This project, just like all of QC’s projects, is distinguished and important. The hospitals will not run out of fuel thus cause the health sector to fall apart. Now, instead, the hospitals can receive patients and offer them the needed services. Primary Care centers and the ambulances will benefit from this project. This will enable the medical staff to offer health services in the ICU, the OR, Renal Dialysis unit, the reception, the ER and the nursery.

Dr. Ashraf Abu Mahady, Director General of International Cooperation in the MOH, expressed his gratitude for QC’s quick response to the urgent appeal that the MOH had already made. “Our hospitals,” said Dr. Abu Mahady, “Are severely suffering because of the shortage in fuel. I thank QC for its support and help. 200,000 liters of fuel are definitely going to help the hospitals continue to offer medical services to the citizens.”

Eng. Mohammed Abu Haloub, QC’s Office Director in the Gaza Strip, said, “When the MOH in the Gaza Strip called for help, we, at QC, were so quick in responding because we know how important the health sector is. At a cost of 1,205,000QR, QC implemented this health project. The ministry suffers from continuous power cuts which could greatly affect the kind of services offered to the patients. More than 1,800,000 people depend on these hospitals.”

He then emphasized the fact that QC will always be there for the Palestinians who are under the Israeli siege. “We will provide the MOH with the necessary fuel to enable the hospitals to offer full medical services to the patients,” said he. 

An Urgent Matter

The fact that the electricity is out more than 12 hours per day in the Gaza Strip means the health sector cannot offer any services to the patients. It is simply because hospitals cannot operate without electricity. There will be no working medical devices in the ER, no working nurseries, and no working devices for renal dialysis. This, of course, causes a huge threat to the hospitals if they run out of fuel.

90% of the health services offered in the Strip are by the MOH’s hospitals. They provide medical services to more than 1,800,000 people. Such services include surgeries, and intensive care. Some hospitals are even specialized in offering renal dialysis and nurseries. The MOH also offers primary care services through 56 care centers. They include treatment for chronic diseases, contagious diseases, and preventive healthcare.

It is necessary for the hospitals to use generators (i.e. around 360,000 liters of fuel monthly) to cover for the daily 12-hour power cut at a cost of 530,000 USD or else the health sector will not be able to offer any services to the patients.

Supply of Medicines

It is worth mentioning that QC had already implemented several projects for the benefit of the health sector in Gaza. Some of these projects are related to the supply of medicines as part of an intervention program designed specially to help those who were injured in the last attack on Gaza (summer 2014). In addition, the engineering plan for building the internal medicine hospital as part of Al Shifa’ Medical Complex in Gaza at a cost of 582,000 QR.

Furthermore, QC is working on different projects to equip the hospitals with electromechanical devices, including providing generators, replacing elevators, and rehabilitating the sterilization system and offering mechanical ventilation at a cost of more than 10,000,000 QR. The health sector in the Gaza strip is the most siege-affected. It suffers from shortages in resources and potentials. 

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• The project aims at supporting the infrastructure in the neglected border regions.
• The project will enhance the food security in Gaza and support the plant nurseries.

As part of its project to restore and develop agricultural lands, QC’s office in Gaza inaugurated the opening of a water well from which 50 farmers of Umm AlNasr Village in the northern region of the Gaza Strip are expected to benefit.

The well irrigates 100 donums of agricultural land, serving 50 Palestinian farmers who suffer from water scarcity in that neglected region. This project should allow them to invest in the land by varying crops.

Reconstruction

The project was funded by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Program for Reconstructing Gaza (the 7th allocation) in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah at a cost of 10,950,000 QR. It aims at restoring the agricultural lands in the Gaza Strip and improving the agricultural infrastructure in the border areas through reforming road networks and supplying the lands with water and electricity to prepare them for future investments.

Food Security

Eng. Mohammed Abu Haloub, QC’s Office Director in Gaza, said that the project aimed at improving Gaza’s food security and developing the plant nurseries to supply the farmers with new plant species. It also aimed at reforming the roads to facilitate the farmers’ arrival to their lands as well as the delivery of fertilizers and agricultural products. In addition, the project would create job opportunities for farmers and workmen.

Abu Haloub explained that the main objective of this project was to reinforce the farmers’ steadfastness in the border regions by meeting their needs and amending the losses they suffered due to the aggression on Gaza. This –as he emphasized- would be achieved by providing them with plants and fruitful trees.

Commendations

Eng. Shafeeq Al-Erawi, the General Director of Soil and Irrigation in the Ministry of Agriculture, deeply thanked QC for implementing this project that he considered a great service to many Palestinian farmers who suffered from water scarcity in the region, as it had depended on one well for irrigation.

Al-Erawi, who attended the delivery gathering on behalf of his ministry, praised the support that Qatar offered to the Palestinian people. He expressed his hopes to have more development projects implemented in Gaza specially for the farmers who were exposed to serious losses in the last aggression on Gaza (Summer 2014).

Abu Tareq Abu Fariya, the mayor of the Municipality of Umm Al-Nasr, expressed his happiness with the project that would develop the agricultural activity in his village. He said that this activity in Umm Al-Nasr village was only recent, and its success depended on providing the farmers with sufficient amounts of water. Hence, the well implemented by QC was a key factor to the success of the agriculture project in the village.

He thanked QC on behalf of the people of Umm Al-Nasr for supporting development projects like drilling wells and enhancing the steadfastness of the farmers in this –neglected- area as he called it.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture’s statistics, the losses in the agricultural sector (plants and animals) during the 51 days of war on Gaza reached 550,000,000 $. The estimation of the direct losses was 350,000,000 $ and the indirect was 200,000,000 $.

The damages affected over half of the landed properties in the Gaza Strip (about 140,000 donums). Some crops dried out as the farmers were unable to reach them. Water wells, surface tanks, ponds, and transportation lines were targeted by the aggression. In addition, agricultural lands of about 34,000 donums near the Eastern borders were leveled.

Water Crisis

A while ago, QC worked on securing potable water for over 3,000 poor Gazan families. Seeking to face the water crisis in the Gaza Strip, QC is implementing a project to filter rainwater and inject it in the underground tanks of 30 public schools. The project should help face the water scarcity suffered by the inhabitants.

In its report regarding the water status in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations warned about how dangerous the situation was. The report said that things would be catastrophic if nothing was done to fix them. It also pointed that the Strip needed desalination plants much more than it did roads. 

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Mas’oud Mreish, “QC got me a UBS that could operate my artificial ventilator. I no longer had to spend all my time at the hospital.”

QC sponsors 7,270 people in Gaza, among which are orphans; poor; disabled; students; and Qur’an teachers.

QC’s office in Gaza implemented a project to secure its sponsored people their medical and humanitarian needs so as to enable them to have a dignified and respectful life and, to lighten their financial burdens.

Necessary Devices

The project included financial aids distributed to 18 cases sponsored by QC in the Gaza Strip. Their needs included medical devices such as eye glasses and audiphones and necessary devices for chronic diseases, payment for treatments, and others.

QC’s staff paid field visits to the patients to ensure that the process was documented and that the patients made the utmost use of the devices, apparatuses, and medications.

Success Story

Thanks to this project, 52 year old Mas’oud Khalil Mreish’s life has changed. He suffers from a chronic respiratory distress. He had to spend most of his time in the hospital because of his serious need for artificial ventilation. He does not have to do that anymore as QC bought him an alternative source of energy to operate his ventilator at home.

The UBS that QC provided Mreish with enabled him to operate his ventilator despite the recurrent power cuts which can last for over 12 hours daily. He can stay with his family now. He no longer needs to spend his time lying on a hospital bed.

Mreish expressed his gratitude for QC for helping him have a stable life with his family. He said that he no longer had to worry about himself and his family. He also stressed that QC made the best it could to help all of its sponsored.

He added, “I used to depend on an oxygen cylinder when the electricity cut off, but it would run out quickly and I couldn’t afford to refill it. That is why my children used to take me to the hospital. I would stay there for days. Hence, I thank QC for helping me and other sick and needy people.”

Alternative Treatments

Eng. Mohammed Abu Haloub, QC’s office Director in Gaza, emphasized that this project reinforced the solidarity and clemency, and provided the needs of the people QC sponsors. He pointed that the project also reduced the financial burden of the sick sponsored category who suffered from difficult economic conditions.

Mr. Abu Haloub elucidated that some of the beneficiaries faced difficulties finding their medications which were not available due to the siege on Gaza. This required more time to find alternative medications.

The beneficiaries expressed their content about receiving the medications and the medical services. They thanked QC for the efforts it exerts to help the poor families and reconstruct the Gaza Strip after the last Israeli aggression.

Fighting Epidemics

The number of QC’s sponsored in Gaza reached 7,270, among which are 5,901 orphans; 803 poor families; 492 disabled; a number of students; preachers; and Qur’an teachers.

In addition, QC has declared since the first few days of the aggression on Gaza to allocate 20,000,000 QR for the reconstruction of the destroyed houses and for other relief needs like food and medications..

QC recently expanded Al Shifa project’s Medical Center, Al-Daraj. The aim was to limit the spread of infectious diseases and epidemics, to provide basic medical services to the needy categories, and to raise health awareness.

At a cost of 500,000 QR, the project was funded by QC in the framework of its objectives to help the Palestinian brothers and ease their sufferance caused by the occupation.

The project included the construction of a second floor of 350 m² and included providing all the construction requirements to serve the health sector in Gaza Strip in general and widen the benefiting category.

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Through its office in Gaza and as part of its Al-Shifa’ project, QC expanded Al-Daraj Health Center. The project aims at establishing a health center which curbs the scourge of contagious and epidemic diseases, offering basic health services to the needy categories, and raising health awareness. 

Raising Competency

QC financed the project at a cost of 500,000 QR as part of its efforts to help the Palestinians and to alleviate their sufferings due to the occupations’ practices. The project included building an upper floor with an area of 350 m² added to the Health Center building, and providing all the necessary construction supplies. This is to serve the health sector in general, and to increase the number of beneficiaries in particular.

Engineer Mohammed Abu Halloub, QC’s Office Director in the Gaza Strip, pointed out that this project is to serve the health sector in the Strip and to raise the competency of the health centers, which are built on small areas and are short in supplies.

Abu Halloub added that the project encountered a number of challenges; the most significant were the closure of borders and the imposed siege on the Strip. They prevented entering the necessary raw materials to finish the project. In addition, the construction and architectural plans needed to be modified to fit the center’s conditions in coordination with the health sector’s administration.

Abu Halloub also stated that with all of the hindering obstacles, QC insisted on implementing this project so that the largest number of people would benefit from it, and it would better prepare the Strip’s health sector. Furthermore, under its emergency intervention program to aid the injured in the last aggression on Gaza (summer 2014), QC is still working on importing medication to the Strip even though it’s under siege. QC is also preparing to build an internal medicine hospital in Al-Shifa’ Complex in Gaza at a cost of 582,000 QR.

Severe Crisis

This project was implemented because of the severe crisis which the Strip is suffering from in the health sector. There are shortages in drugs and medical disposables in different hospitals in the strip. This resulted in reducing the services offered to the citizens.

Some doctors closed their clinics in the north, middle and south of the Strip; even the only birthing center in the north of the Strip was closed, too; all due to the severe crisis from which the Strip suffers because of the shortage in drugs, medical disposables and money. This is a clear warning that the health sector will fall apart.

Furthermore, QC has also implemented projects in which it equipped the hospitals with electro-mechanic devices, supplied them with generators, added and replaced elevators to different hospitals, and rehabilitated the sterilization systems and mechanical ventilation at a cost of more than 10,000,000 QR.

Previous Efforts

QC has already inaugurated a relief campaign “Hand in Hand We Build Palestine” to help reconstruct Gaza. This campaign includes financing and implementing constructional projects for shelter, education, health, and economic empowerment

After all the destruction and wreckage the last aggression on the Strip caused, QC’s campaign ‘Hand in Hand We Build Palestine’ stands as one of QC’s efforts to rebuild Gaza. 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, 263 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 erased. 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. 

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