The handover took place during a ceremony held at the headquarters of the project in the presence of Major General Abd al-Rahman Sadiq al-Mahdi - assistant to the Sudanese president, federal ministers as well as ministers from River Nile State.
The ceremony was also attended by Sheikh Hamad bin Nasser al-Thani, chairman of the Board of Directors of Qatar Charity, Faisal bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud, member of the Board of Directors, and a group of administrators from the head office in Doha and the Khartoum branch.
Governor al-Samani expressed his deep thanks to the government and people of Qatar for supporting their brothers in Sudan and welcomed, on behalf of the Sudanese leadership, their guest HE Sheikh Thani and the accompanying delegation.
A view of the project.
The governor also mentioned the development projects that the government of Qatar and its charitable organisations had contributed to, including Abu Hamad City Electricity Project, besides contributing to solving the Darfur problem through holding a dialogue under Qatari mediation that helped develop the region. Additionally, national efforts were exerted to preserve the Sudanese heritage and identity, such as the restoration of monuments in Gebel Barkal, Musawwarat es-Sufra and Bagrawiyah pyramids.
Meanwhile, speaking at the opening ceremony of ‘Rofaka’ (companions) city, Sudan’s Minister of Welfare and Social Security Mashair al-Dawalab expressed her appreciation for Qatar and its assistance in Sudan in the fields of health, education and orphan sponsorship. She also praised Qatar's charitable efforts and hoped that other voluntary organisations would follow suit in Sudan and the Arab world.
The 200 families benefiting from the project received the keys to their homes, while HE Sheikh Thani also opened the Abu Bakr a?-?iddiq Mosque, which can accommodate 800 worshippers. In addition, he toured the city, visiting the exhibition that covered all stages of the city's implementation.
Intisar Mohamed Ali, Minister of Social Affairs and Guidance in Nile State, explained the government of Sudan's policy to support and sponsor orphans and provide them with care and compensation for the loss of their parents.
Yusuf bin Ahmed al-Kuwari, executive director of QC, praised the co-operation offered by Sudan’s government and also talked about orphan sponsorship as one of the strategic themes of Qatar Charity, benefiting more than 100,000 orphans in some 33 countries.
He pointed out that ‘Rofaka’ city provides job opportunities for more than 300 people and education for about 2,000 students as well as vocational education.
The ceremony concluded with the signing of a co-operation agreement between QC, River Nile State of Sudan and ‘Rofaka’ city.
The orphanage, built at a cost of QR32mn, comprises 200 housing units, a kindergarten for pre-school children, two primary and two secondary schools, a clinic, a mosque with a capacity of 800 worshippers, a commercial market, two water stations, children's playgrounds and green yards, public services such as sanitation for the entire village, and an administrative office for the compound.
Dignitaries mark the occasion.
HE Sheikh Thani bin Hamad al-Thani has handed over Aisha bint Hamad bin Abdullah al-Attiyah School for orphans in Ad-Damir city, located some 287km north of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, to Hatim al-Waseela al-Samani, governor of River Nile State, Qatar Charity (QC) said in a press statement.
