Al-Qahtani and Al-Thameemi at the press briefing yesterday
The Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) in association with Ministry of Interior (MoI) will host 12,000 people from 11 expatriate communities during the first three weeks of the holy month of Ramadan, as part of its Ramadan project for this year.
The ‘Iftar and Brotherhood with Communities Project’ is an exclusive programme organised in association with MoI targeting the expatriate community members in Qatar who play an important role in the development of the country.
The main objectives of this programme are showcasing the brotherhood of the people of Qatar with expatriate communities in the country and strengthening cohesion, compassion, rapprochement and communication among the members of the community, explained Director General of RAF Ayidh bin Dabsan al-Qahtani yesterday.
He was speaking at a press briefing held at the RAF headquarters, for announcing the activities of the ‘Iftar and Brotherhood with Communities Project’ during the holy month of Ramadan. Director of Community Service department at RAF Dr Hani al-Thameemi and heads of communities were also present at the briefing.
“These kinds of meetings during the month of holy Ramadan will help people to meet each other and  solve their problems. It will also help us to find out about needy people deserving support from our side,” pointed out the RAF director general. “In addition, we are implementing  three other major projects during the holy month of Ramadan. The first one is ‘Iftar and Remembrance Programme’ on a daily basis at 13 tents in different locations of the country with the participation of 600-1,000 people. Through this programme, we will target the people from the labour and bachelor category. The second initiative is ‘Humanitarian Iftar’ that inspires non-Muslims to  fast for a humanitarian cause.
RAF will be paying a fixed amount for charity activities in Syria on behalf of each person who completes the fast from morning to evening successfully while the third one is ‘Iftar at prisons,’ said al-Qahtani.
Al-Qahtani said  communities such as Pakistan, South Africa, Djibouti and Somalia are new this year and the number of participants has jumped from 8,000 to 12,000 which indicate the growth of the programme by up to 40%.
“RAF will host 1,700 members from the Pakistani community at Al Arabi Sports Club on July 26 and 1,000 members from the Bangladeshi community at Tariq bin Ziyad School and 1,500 members from the Nepalese community at Al Arabi Sports Club on July 27. On July 28, RAF will host members from the Sri Lankan community at Tariq bin Ziyad School,” said Dr al-Thameemi.
“In the second week of Ramadan, RAF will host 200 members from the Malaysian community at Al Arabi Sports Club on August 2, while 1,000 members from the Indonesian community and 1,350 members from the Somali and Djiboutian communities will be hosted on the following Friday at Tariq bin Ziyad School and Al Arabi Sports Club respectively,” he added. Al-Thameemi pointed out that the third week’s programme will start by hosting 300 members from the South African community at Abu Bakre Al-Siddiq School on August 9. Eventually the project will be concluded by hosting 750 members from the Filipino community at Abu Bakre Al-Siddiq School and 2,500 members from the Indian community at Al Arabi Sports Club on August 10.
The ‘Iftar and Brotherhood with Communities Programme,’ which extends for 3-6 hours, will include mainly four programmes such as a religious lecture by a prominent scholar in the local language of each community, breaking fast together, safety awareness film show and an awareness lecture on pedestrian safety by MoI, besides recreational programmes and quiz contests. There will be valuable prizes for winners in the contest.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning and the Ministry of Health will also participate in the programme with their own awareness initiatives.
The representatives of the Indian, Nepalese, Sri Lankan and the Djiboutian communities praised RAF for organising an excellent programme for their members.