Qatar provides shelter for displaced families in war-torn Yemen

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has launched Phase 1 of its project to help Yemenis in need, providing shelter for internally displaced people (IDPs) across the country.

Displaced Yemeni families across the war-torn country received shelter and aid as part of efforts by the Qatar Red Crescent Society, in cooperation with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Phase 1 of the project targeted internally displaced people in Taiz, Ibb, and Saada governorates, the organisation said on Tuesday.

QRCS will provide shelter kits and nonfood items (NFIs) to roughly 4,000 families in Yemen, in addition to cash aid to pay for home rentals for six months for another 1,700 families, the organisation said, in ongoing efforts to support Yemenis severely affected by the brutal war.

During the QRCS ceremony in Saada, Hassan al-Hajj, director of Razih District, thanked the Qatari organisation for its relentless humanitarian activity in Yemen and expressed gratitude for the projects.

More aid is needed for the vulnerable population of Razih, al-Hajj added.

Yemenis have been ravaged by more than five-years of war that has been described by the United Nations as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The target districts – Maqbanah, Al-Ta’iziyah, Razih, Al-Hashwah, Al-Udayn, and Dhi Al-Sufal – are among those worst affected by the conflict.

“We suffered under bad financial and emotional conditions. In the past, I lived with my family in a poor home in Al-Wazi’iyah. As a result of the escalation of violence, we moved to Maqbanah to take shelter under makeshift structures, with no food or other living requirements,” Rasheed, a beneficiary of the aid from Taiz, said.

“When we were told by the villagers that a team from QRCS came to select eligible beneficiaries for an emergency shelter aid project, my wife and I went immediately to register our data.”

“It was a nightmare to see my children ill or in need of basic things while I stand helpless. Today, I am happy to receive this aid. These mattresses, blankets, kitchenware, and clothes will alleviate some of our suffering. I feel happy and content. I wish that this support will continue for the sake of us and others suffering,” added Aisha, the wife.

Funded by OCHA’s Yemen Humanitarian Fund, the initial phase, which will provide aid in six districts, will cost a total of $2,133,482.

Last month, QRCS also distributed protective medical supplies to several hospitals in Taiz, in a bid to assist local health professionals to serve the coronavirus-hit city despite difficult humanitarian conditions.

The Qatar Red Crescent has launched a range of humanitarian projects in Yemen since 2012 to alleviate the suffering of thousands in the region’s most-impoverished nation. Efforts have stepped up since the 2014 conflict erupted.

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