Doha: A donation drive to support victims of the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria has been launched at Qatar Foundation, in cooperation with Qatar Charity, with people from across Qatar playing their part to help those in need.
Members of Qatar’s community have donated large amounts of warm clothes, blankets, and food to the donation drive, with volunteers from the Qatar Foundation (QF) community and beyond supporting the collection process.
Nora Al Jaouni, a student at QF partner university Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), believes that volunteering instils a sense of humanity in people, saying: “It has been wonderful to see members of the QF community and others come together to prepare the donations and send them to victims of the earthquake.
“And if we do not have much to give, we can give our time to volunteer, which makes this time more valuable. The large quantity of donations indicates the level of awareness among people in Qatar of the importance of donating.”
Adam Khoder, a volunteer at Education City and a student in Türkiye, said images of the aftermath of the disaster “hurt our hearts, especially considering the extreme cold, and it was necessary to take action”.
“It is impressive to see the large amount of donations, especially winter clothes and foodstuffs,” he said.
“Just thinking that these materials will reach people who desperately need them, and that they will warm them and alleviate their suffering, gives us a feeling of gladness.”
The donation campaign for the victims of the earthquake was launched in Education City last Thursday and it collected about 2.5 tonnes of donations in less than 24 hours.
Fatma Attia, a member of the Community Development Department at Qatar Foundation, and one of the team members involved in the donation drive, said: “The interaction of community members inside and outside Qatar Foundation has been great, as we continue to receive donations in abundance. There are donors asking us what we need, and many donate unused items for this purpose”.
“Thick blankets and winter clothes are the most widely received donations. We also have foodstuffs that can be used for more than six months, and we have received a lot of infant formula, while toys, and school equipment have also been donated.”
Volunteers are sorting donations into categories, ensuring the validity of foodstuffs, as well as making sure that clothes are in good and clean condition, before placing in cardboard boxes to be transported to Qatar Charity, which in turn sends them to Türkiye and Syria
Omar Murad, a student at WCM-Q, said: “The least we can do as students and as individuals in society is to volunteer to support the victims. “I feel such initiatives are necessary to make us feel our value as human beings, and that life, without giving and sharing in others’ sorrows and tragedies, has no value.
“I am keen to volunteer in such humanitarian initiatives, as I am studying medicine, and medicine is a profession that requires compassion and empathy. My goal is to be able, after becoming a doctor, to volunteer to treat patients in areas faced with humanitarian crises and my participation in this donation drive is part of that goal.”
Donations will continue to be received at the Black Box Theatre in Multaqa (Education City Student Center) every day from 9am-6pm, except on National Sport Day, when donations can be dropped off at the Oxygen Park car park at Education City.