Doha: Qatar Charity (QC) has started a project in Nouga in Bangladesh, which has suffered drought and a shortage of drinking and irrigation water and other basic services.
The project at a cost of over QR2m comprises 12 water units with networks for the targeted people and lands, a health centre with outpatient clinics, inpatient beds and laboratories and a school for children.
The project aims to help over 18,000 people and 20,000 patients a year. They are treated at the centre and the number of beneficiaries has increased to 38,000.
Over 1,200 farms are benefiting from the water grids. The project works automatically; local committees were trained to operate machines and beneficiaries pay monthly subscriptions to cover operation and maintenance expenses.
All water sources in Nouga, one of the arid areas, suffer during drought or are polluted for six months. During this time of the year, there is shortage of clean drinking and irrigating water and the polluted water causes diseases. People cannot farm lands and suffer financial loss and shortage of food supplies.
The government has established Drought Areas Water Department to fight drought and help people get clean water.
QC has set up centres which include homes for sponsored orphans, and provide services for target families in addition to productive and development projects such as Khubayb Ibn Adiy Centre for orphans, their families and the neighbourhood. This centre consists of an orphanage, a school (Grades 1 to 10), a health centre, a vocational training centre, farm lands, homes for employees, playgrounds, and a mosque.
It provides shelter for 400 orphans, 40 employees and workers and their families. Around 400 students attend the school. A comprehensive curriculum has been designed for them, including general, religious and vocational subjects. The centre’s health unit treats students, orphans, employees, their families and people in the neighbourhood. Its staff visit nearby villages to spread health awareness and treat the sick.
The centre also offers seasonal projects such as Iftar banquets, zakat and udhiyya. The training centre teaches women sewing, tapestry and handcrafts.
The centre supervises QC’s projects, including mosques, complexes and income-generating initiatives, in Rangpur District.
The Peninsula
