Doha: As part of a Warm Winter campaign for 2015-2016, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has concluded a winterisation relief project in Afghanistan, distributing $275,000 (QR1,000,810) worth of aid to the poorest and displaced families in inaccessible areas.
The project lasted from mid-November 2015 until the end of January to alleviate the suffering of the needy and displaced in the face of the cold winter and reduce malnutrition.
A total of 12,000 beneficiaries were covered in several districts of four provinces: Badakhshan (6,000), Kabul (4,200), Faryab (900), and Wardak (900). It involved distribution of 8,000 blankets (seven per family), 1,000 wood heaters, 1,000 bags of winter clothes, and 2,000 food packages, each containing 77 kg of items including rice, vegetable oil, sugar, beans and tea.
Among challenges that faced project staff were the freezing weather and insecurity in the provinces. But the project was executed as planned, in coordination with local partners and authorities. The success was hailed by the local and national media, which highlighted QRCS as the first international humanitarian organisation to reach out to beneficiary areas.
QRCS coordinated with Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) on procurement of relief items from the local market, quality checks and local community surveys to select beneficiaries from the families with no source of income, families whose breadwinners are widows or children, and families with disabled people. Following distribution, the Badakhshan Governor met the QRCS team and awarded a certificate of appreciation in recognition of QRCS’s efforts. The meeting was attended by a representative of the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Thousands of homeless families are suffering due to severe conditions amid below-zero temperatures in northern regions, heavy snowing in cities and blocked roads in mountains.
The Warm Winter campaign is in progress to provide more than QR11m aid for over 200,000 beneficiaries in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon (Syrian and Palestinian refugees), Jordan (Syrian refugees), and Iraqi Kurdistan (Syrian refugees). The Peninsula
