PRESS RELEASES
Sixty-five ROTA volunteers on their way to help schools in Pakistan
5 April 2006
A group of sixty five (65) young volunteers are leaving Doha, Qatar tomorrow (Thursday 6 April) to assist with the ongoing school rebuilding project in one of the earthquake-affected parts of Kashmir, Pakistan.
The initiative has been launched by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), a charity established and chaired by Her Excellency Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, daughter of the Emir. ROTA is part of the Qatar Foundation organization that has the central goal of transforming Qatar into a 21st century knowledge-based society.
On 8 October 2005, almost 90,000 people died and thousands of families and children were left homeless as a result of a devastating earthquake in the mountainous region of north-eastern Pakistan.
The first group of ROTA volunteers, comprising of students and teachers selected from 6 different schools in Doha, will depart on Thursday (6 April) from Doha International Airport and will be on the ground in Kashmir for one week.
A second volunteer group, also under the auspices of ROTA, will depart one week later, on 13 April. These will be teenage boys from the Qatar Leadership Academy, a secondary school located in the town of Al-Khor and set up by Qatar Foundation.
A total of 65 students and teachers will travel to Pakistan.
On December 162005 ROTA - in conjunction with other Qatar-based charities - dispatched two chartered cargo flights of emergency relief to one of the worst-hit areas in Kashmir in response to the devastating earthquake in Pakistan. Sheikha Mayassa headed this relief effort and held top-level discussions with relief and educational authorities in the region.
Further to this initial emergency response, ROTA pledged US$ 500 000 to the Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) to build 21 temporary schools near the Bagh City of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). One school has already been built with another 20 near completion. These schools will accommodate 6300 scholars in total. Both groups of volunteers will be accommodated by the QRC in this area. ROTA is committed to the funding of permanent structures once the necessary authorizations are received.
The purpose of these trips is twofold, namely: to interact with school children of all ages displaced by the earthquake, and to foster a sense of volunteerism among the young, multi-cultural population living in Qatar. Sheikha Mayassa has identified the importance of volunteerism among the youth and is hoping that the volunteers embarking on this trip will, on their return, also have a positive impact on the various communities in Qatar.
The ROTA team is being lead by the acting director Omnia Nour.
"ROTA approached six schools in Qatar to request volunteers for this trip. We were overwhelmed by their positive response to assist those in need in Pakistan and unfortunately we had to limit those wanting to volunteer due to accommodation restraints," said Omnia.
The volunteers met each other for the first time on 25 March 2006 where they attended an orientation briefing held by the ROTA team together with the Qatar Red Crescent.
"These students are from such diverse backgrounds, however, it was quite amazing to see how easily and freely everyone actually mixed and chatted. It all seemed so easy and on our return from Pakistan, we are going to organize many more volunteer activities which will involve far greater numbers of volunteers," exclaimed Omnia. "ROTA's main target is to promote unity and joint team-work among the Asian youth by encouraging voluntary and community work, and it will be through their talents and generosity that we will be able to expand and reach out to many people in urgent need across Asia," Omnia continued
Volunteers were selected by their respective schools and each school will be sending one of their teachers to accompany the group. The following schools are involved: Qatar Academy, Qatar International School, Park House English School, Al Jazeera Academy, Pakistan Education Center, Al Wakra Boy's School, and Qatar Leadership Academy.
At the orientation day, the ROTA and QRC teams conducted a full brief on the prevailing weather conditions and the living arrangements at the camp. An Al Jazeera Children's Channel documentary on the devastating earthquake was shown to the group for them to really appreciate what happened in Union Council Nar-Sher Ali Khan and the destruction of the schools.
"I believe that the volunteers were really moved when they saw this documentary, and for the first time appreciated what this trip was all about," commented Omnia. "The schools have also collected over 2000 kilograms of toys, clothes and school equipment to donate to the students in the affected areas. Qatar Airways - one of our main sponsors - have once again kindly offered to take this cargo at no cost. They have also assisted us immensely to fly these volunteer groups over."
While in Union Council Nar-Sher Ali Khan, the volunteers will focus on the following activities: dramatic art, team-building, music appreciation, health awareness, painting, storytelling in Urdu, and sport. The volunteers have all been supplied with sleeping bags, blankets, T-shirts and rucksacks.
The various Qatari schools have also collected over 60 000 QR to build playgrounds once the permanent schools have built. The volunteers will identify areas where these playgrounds will be built.
"Sheikha Mayassa is really thrilled that this volunteer trip has materialized," continued Omnia. "She saw the devastation first hand last year and really wanted young volunteers from Qatar to be able to experience the re-building effort and to bring back stories of their efforts to encourage a greater sense of volunteerism within Qatar."
"We are also pleased to show the generous people of Qatar where ROTA is spending some of the funds collected at last year's gala dinner, the Bryan Adam's concert and the Wheels 'n' Heels' event. After this volunteer trip, ROTA has committed to building and equipping libraries at these schools and is also considering joint collaboration projects between Pakistani and Qatari schools and universities," Omnia concluded.
The volunteers will fly on the 6 April 2006. Members of the public and media are more than welcome to go to the airport and see this first group off. A film crew from the Al Jazeera Children's Channel will be accompanying the volunteers. On their return, they will prepare a documentary on these volunteer groups and the present conditions in Union Council Nar-Sher Ali Khan which will be broadcast internationally in due course.
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Sixty-five young ROTA volunteers are travelling to Pakistan to assist with a school reconstruction project in an earthquake-affected area.