The Social and Sports Activities Support Fund (Daam) will support Qatar Red Crescent’s (QRCS) Seventh Disaster Management Camp (DMC-7), to be held from April 3 to 12, at the Marine Scouts Camp in Al Khor.
Under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, DMC-7 will be held in co-ordination with various Qatari government and non-government organisations, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations and the Secretariat-General of the Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.
Some 300 volunteers from Qatar and 20 GCC and Mena national societies will attend the event, spearheaded by around 45 disaster management experts from Qatar and other countries.
The training will cover a wide range of specialised topics and concepts such as sphere standards, psychological support, international humanitarian law, safe access, and restoring family links.
QRCS secretary-general Ali Hassan al-Hammadi thanked Daam for its initiative aimed at building a culture of preparedness in the Qatari society and enhancing skills to deal with any emergency.
“We are happy with this strategic partnership and the contribution of our partners to one of QRCS’ major local programmes, which reflects the Fund’s fundamental principle of supporting humanitarian, social and volunteering activities,” he said.
Al-Hammadi stressed that they are always ready to invest in people, empower the vulnerable and build their capacity through education and training.
Daam board member Sultan Rashid al-Khater said he sees their contribution as a way to create a culture of preparedness and awareness of basic disaster-response tools.
“Over the past years, Daam has sponsored many educational, health, sports and social projects, which add great value to various services and sectors,” he noted.
Daam was established by Emiri Decree No 44/2010 to support sports, social, cultural and charity activities in Qatar in line with the overall government policies and plans.
DMC manager Rashid Saad al-Mohannadi said the camp has become a landmark programme not only in Qatar but at the regional level as well.
“Eagerly awaited by many national and international government organisations and NGOs, DMC is widely recognised as the only Arabic-speaking specialised training of its kind,” he noted. “That is why many government and private entities responded well by
actively supporting it.”
Contributors to the event include the Permanent Committee for Emergency, Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya), Qatar Armed Forces, and Qatar Scout and Guide Association, among others.
The success of DMC-6 in 2015 drew the attention of Qatari institutions and saw the participation of volunteers from Arab national societies with a view to improving their national disaster response
capabilities.
