(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Alfardan Group has donated a “significant amount” to Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) in support of the latter’s “Honourable Life” development project, which is aimed at providing adequate housing to ensure stability, security, privacy and protection from weather for Syrian families.
Under a memorandum of understanding, the Group’s contribution will go into the development of Alfardan Charitable Town —a complex of 200 houses to be built in Harem city, north of Idlib governorate near the Turkish border.
The development project will consist of 60sqm houses of clay blocks procured from the surrounding environment, with each house comprising two rooms, a reception area, a kitchen and a bathroom, QRCS has said in a statement, noting that the project “also includes full infrastructure - water supply, a surface water well and tank, a sewage network, power supply, roads, land levelling and gardens.”
In addition, there will be service utilities such as the establishment and one-year operation of a school, bakery, healthcare centre, workshop for widows, market, two mosques, a solid waste removal system and solar energy panels to ensure the social and environmental well-being of the residents.
Alfardan Charitable Town will be built on a 7.5-hectare land lot allocated by the municipality of Harem. The location is near to a number of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and public roads, away from ongoing clashes, and rich in clay soil.
The project will serve 200 families (1,600 people) whose breadwinners are widows in the nearby makeshift camps. In addition, there will be thousands of indirect beneficiaries from increased trade and economic activities, as well as IDP camp residents, who will have more access to the available health and other humanitarian services, the statement noted.
Omar Alfardan, president and CEO of Alfardan Group, said: “We, at Alfardan Group, are committed to supporting public welfare activities and cultivating stronger ties with charitable organisations. CSR projects are an integral component of our corporate culture as we actively promote the highest forms of ethical, responsible and humanitarian practices.
“These are the pillars that our company was built on and the core values espoused by our founder, which we carry on until today. We would also like to laud QRCS for their tireless efforts in helping the people of Syria as well as other communities in need.” The first phase of the project saw the completion of 100 houses at Afes in the Idlib countryside. These have been occupied and, as each family has a separate house with all necessary facilities, have “positively impacted the community by greatly improving the lives of the beneficiaries”, the statement added.
Unlike emergency shelter tents, clay houses are safe and fit to protect families against heat in the summer and cold weather in the winter.
“We would like to thank Alfardan Group for their kind and generous donation. Their support will go a long way in helping us meet our goals for this community and providing the people with shelter and an environment that will ensure their physical, psychological and spiritual well-being. We are committed to ensuring that all people have access to basic needs, which is their right, and we are happy to stand in solidarity with Alfardan Group in making this happen,” said Saleh bin Ali al-Mohannadi, secretary-general of QRCS.
For 2016, QRCS plans to construct 2,000 clay houses across Aleppo and the Idlib countryside, with “new and more innovative design and execution techniques to make use of site-specific advantages and better equipment”.
The overarching goal of this strategic project is to secure a semi-native residential environment and shift from emergency shelter to sustainable development and lower dependence on camps.