QC to rehabilitate flood-hit Somalians

Qatar Charity (QC) will implement a relief and rehabilitation project in the Somalian province of Middle Shabelle for the benefit of around 93,000 people.The QR3.3mn project will offer support to people affected by the floods that have swept through the province during the past two years, and is expected to take around a year to complete.The project will help improve the living standards of affected families by providing support to the agricultural and pastoral sector, establishing income-generating projects for the displaced and rehabilitating a number of essential facilities in the targeted areas, across a number of villages affiliated to the directorates of Jawhar and Bal’ad in Middle Shabelle. Areas adjacent to rivers in Shabelle and Juba suffered heavy rainfall in October and November, leading to flooding that caused significant displacement. The Middle Shabelle province was worst affected, with most irrigation canals damaged along the Shabelle river as a result of these floods, and reports suggest that some 10,000 families were displaced.The project is expected to reclaim 250 hectares of agricultural land in the province and restore stability to 500 families who depend on agriculture and grazing.Four schools and four health centres will also be renovated and equipped, in addition to the rehabilitation of seven wells and providing them with new generators, construction of 10km of irrigation canals and the provision of alternative sources of income through small income-generating projects for 58 families.The work is being carried out via QC’s Somalia office in co-ordination with local authorities, the benefiting communities and the few humanitarian organisations working in these areas.QC aims eventually to begin providing recovery projects to enable the affected people to become self-sufficient via a series of income-generating projects, including shops, machinery production and ownership of animals. The people will also be trained on how to cope with frequent floods and have their artesian wells rehabilitated to run according to the latest energy systems.