Non-food aid from QRCS for victims of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is conducting a $2.25mn (about QR8.2mn) development project in the Philippines aimed at alleviating the condition of victims of typhoon Haiyan which devastated the country in November 2013.
Under the Qatar Alliance for the Relief of the Peoples of Somalia and the Philippines, the project will include constructing 650 housing units, classrooms and a depot in Tacloban City.
The project is the product of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in June 2014 between QRCS and the Philippine Red Cross Society (PRCS) as a framework for bilateral co-operation.
Under the agreement, QRCS will provide non-food aids that include 594 tents, 4,488 mattresses, 3,510 blankets, 3,390 water tanks, and 592 tarpaulins. This assistance will serve 1,548 affected families in Leyte province.
The MoU was signed in September 2014 with subsequent amendments in March 2015 to adapt to the changes on the ground.
Seven classrooms will be built at the central school of northern Burauen, Leyte at a cost of $150,000. A public tender was conducted in February followed by another one which is in the process of awarding.
A ready-made depot will be built near the PRCS branch in Leyte. A tender was conducted in February to select a contractor.
In co-operation with PRCS, QRCS is building 650 housing units in northern Tacloban. The houses are built of wood and cement, with a separate toilet and each as a sewerage chamber.
Some 112 houses have been finished and work is in progress despite the challenges such as unstable weather.
The project targeted 650 families which were selected based on case studies from among those with totally destroyed homes, people with special needs, families whose breadwinners are children, women, or old people, and patients with chronic ailments. The beneficiaries are trained in safe shelter standards and emergency measures.
Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the Philippines on November 8, 2013, was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded. State and community infrastructure was badly damaged, resulting in severe basic services breakdown and worsened living conditions.
The Qatar Alliance was formed as a result of the Qatar Day of Solidarity with the Peoples of Somalia and the Philippines. It was held on November 19, 2013, in response to the call by HE the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Apart from QRCS, which was assigned to implement the executive work of the campaign, the alliance involved Qatar Charity, Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services, Sheikh Eid bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association and Al-Asmakh Charity Foundation.
The alliance has already executed and organised many projects and events to mobilise financial and non-financial support for the campaign.
