Qatar Charity joins Somalia water project

GULF TIMES

Mohamed Ali al-Ghamdi

Qatar Charity has announced that it will provide five vehicles for drilling wells in Somalia.
The project has been organised in conjunction with the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation to help alleviate problems associated with drought in the Horn of Africa which has led to thousands of deaths.
The plan came about following Qatar Charity’s participation in the OIC’s ‘Water for Life in Somalia’ conference, which was held in Cairo earlier this month.
The Qatar Charity delegation was led by the executive director of local development, Mohamed Ali al-Ghamdi, and the director of Asia Programmes, Jamal Blackie.
The organisations which attended the conference pledged to drill 600 artesian wells and provide 12 rigs in Somalia. Each well, ranging in depth from 200 to 400m will provide water for 24,000 people. 
The participants also discussed water projects for 11 regions in Somalia, aimed at helping around 9mn people by developing long-term sustainable projects as opposed to emergency intervention.
Qatar Charity has been working to help people suffering as a result of drought in the area, and the organisation financed the purchase of a number of artesian rigs in Somalia and the surrounding area last Ramadan.
They also provided a relief package worth QR5mn to people suffering from famine in the region earlier this year.