Rota announces its ramadan activities

Reach Out To Asia (Rota) announced yesterday a series of volunteering activities that the organisation, along with its strategic partners, will hold during the holy month of Ramadan.  Rota is offering volunteers and supporters exciting opportunities to participate in community activities including Iftars, art workshops, Garangao celebrations and house renovations, hoping to spread the message of ‘volunteerism’ across Qatar. Around 150 volunteers, from a variety of backgrounds and ages, have already signed up to assist in reaching some of the 700 expected beneficiaries of this year’s Ramadan outreach projects. In the build up to Ramadan, Rota have distributed packaged  food items like rice, sugar and lentils to around 120 needy families in Doha, in partnership with a local secondary school. Iftars planned for the month include one that will be held at the Qatar Foundation for Elderly Care and another that will cater for a variety of community organisations that represent children with special needs. Both these Iftars are sponsored by the Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB). Another iftar, held on the 14th day of Ramadan, will be provided for the children of the Dhreima Qatar Orphan Foundation and sponsored by THE One furniture store. This joint activity will also include QFIB-sponsored Garangao celebrations for the Dhreima orphans. In a move to assist less fortunate residents in Qatar, two houses will be renovated with the support and expertise of Rota partner THE One.  This is the third year in which “THE One” has donated furniture and worked with Rota and its volunteers and resulting in a tangible difference in these families’ lives. A highlight of this year’s Rota Ramadan activities will be the Art Project. This year, a key group that will be targeted through a series of art workshops will be children with special needs. Hosted at the Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar and guided by a collective of up and coming young Qatari artists, Rota volunteers will be engaging with around 30 children from community partners such as Best Buddies Qatar, Al Noor Institute for the Blind, Qatari Centre of Social Cultural for the Deaf, Hope Qatar, Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of Special Needs and the Qatar Paralympic Committee.