DOHA: Qatar Charity has opened a model primary school in the town of Hudur, the southwestern Bakool region of Somalia near the border with Ethiopia.

Around 350 students – girls and boys, are expected to benefit by the next academic year. The school is comprised of eight classrooms fully furnished with tables and desks for study, a manager’s office, a teacher’s room and other necessary facilities.

The opening of the school came as part of the QC’s interest in education to improve personal and professional lives of Somali people. Director of Qatar Charity Office in Somalia, Abdel Nour Mirsal said that education is a strategic direction for Qatar Charity and the most important justification for its intervention in Somalia, as good education can fight poverty and eradicate illiteracy.

This educational project is the first of its kind in the town of Hudur, where people did not receive educational services and there were almost no places to study, due to its location on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu, which makes it a harder place to reach than others.

Qatar Charity has signed a cooperation agreement with UNHCR to reintegrate Somali returnees and displaced persons, which will help remove many obstacles and constraints that prevent children and young people from getting primary and secondary education. The project, proposed under the agreement, will rehabilitate existing or newly established schools or build new schools in the targeted areas of return. The scope of work will include, but is not limited to, the construction or rehabilitation of classrooms, in addition to the construction or rehabilitation of sports facilities.

 

In a related context, the UNHCR, in cooperation with Qatar Charity, will build six schools with 24 classrooms along with a fully equipped educational area at a cost of $1,683,100.

Earlier, the QC’s Office in Somalia rehabilitated many thousands of the floods and cyclones victims in the Middle Shabelle Region and renovated three schools, equipped with study tools, materials and aids through its early recovery programs.

Since its establishment until the end of last year, the office has implemented 465 educational projects, which has benefited more than 190,000 students.