Qatar Charity (QC) has sent a convoy of assistance to Syrian refugees on the Turkish-Syrian border. Donations in kind were collected via the Taif project which began this January within the context of QC’s ongoing campaign for the relief of the Syrian people, and comprised 12 truckloads of a variety of items weighing 120 tonnes. The convoy was carried out in collaboration with ‘Support the people of Syria’ and the Turkish IHH and included shelter items such as tents, heaters, generators, blankets, clothing and footwear. The Taif project has collected over 200 tonnes of items to date and another six truckloads of aid will be sent to Syria at March-end. Donations were collected from across Qatar and institutions, including Qatar Museums, Woqod and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar also contributed. The convoy aims to contribute to alleviating the suffering of refugees whose number is increasing, in addition to the dramatic increase in prices, low availability of common items and difficult conditions being experienced by them in the face of the continuing conflict. According to a report by 2015 Syria Strategic Response Plan, around 12.6 million people are displaced, with elderly, women and children worst-hit. QC and IHH recently signed an agreement to begin construction of Al Rayyan City, which comprises 1,000 housing units for the benefit of 1,000 families of about 7,000 members, at a cost of about QR44m. The city will have 10 villages, each with 100 residential units. It will be environmental- friendly and use solar energy. The project will be completed in six months. Each family of about six members receives a housing unit that consists of two rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen, fully equipped with mattresses, blankets and heating aids. At the beginning of this year QC announced the allocation of QR36.5m ($10m) for the relief of the Syrian people, in conjunction with an announcement of QR2m emergency aid for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and on the Turkish-Syrian border, helping them face the Huda Storm that hit the Levant in January and benefited over 73,000 people. QC has seen donations and relief items from Qatari benefactors flooding in, allowing it to carry out projects those displaced in Syria. The ‘Before They Freeze’ campaign, for example, has raised QR33m to date. A special relief convoy was sent to towns worse hit by the conflict, such as Arsal, where a convoy of medicines, food, tents and financial assistance for the restoration of homes was sent, benefitting around 5,400 people. A QC delegation, including members of ‘Competitors 2’ team was made during the past week, led by Yusuf bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, CEO, QC, in the presence of Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Jassim Al Thani. The group launched food, health and education projects financed by ‘Competitors 2’ team for the benefit of displaced Syrian in their country and Syrian refugees in Turkey . The Taif project, launched five years ago, seeks to promote volunteerism in the community to help low-income families in a manner that preserves their dignity. Donated items such as clothing, furniture and electrical appliances are collected from individuals, schools, companies and organisations and distributed or sold at nominal prices with proceeds going to QC projects in and outside Qatar.