Social care activity at Qatar Charity has grown in importance, especially in orphan sponsorship, given the continuing rise in the number of orphans in the world, particularly amid increasing humanitarian crises, disasters and wars. Studies and rights reports indicate more than 150 million orphaned children in the world, and the orphans of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan make up about 9 million children. Given its accumulated experience in this field, and its wish to provide innovative services within orphan sponsorship in fields such as education, health, shelter and economic empowerment, Qatar Charity launched an initiative named “Rafaqa” on 3 December 2013.
The Rafaqa initiative is the executive arm of sponsorship. For its rulings in law, see the guide Orphan Sponsorship: Its Rulings and How to Begin Today.
How was the name “Rafaqa” chosen?
“Rafaqa” (companions) was chosen as the name of the initiative from the high standing of the orphan’s sponsor in Islam and the honor the sponsor gains through sponsorship, which is the company of the noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Paradise, God willing, in fulfillment of the Prophetic guidance: “I and the sponsor of an orphan will be in Paradise like these two,” and he held up his two fingers, meaning the index and middle fingers.
Each letter of the word “Rafaqa” carries a meaning tied to the initiative’s aims and to providing care for the sponsored children, as follows:
- R (ر): Care (in its various forms).
- F (ف): Opportunities (jobs and employment).
- Q (ق): Capabilities (rehabilitation, empowerment and educational support).
- A (أ): Safety (food, social and health safety).
- ‘ (ء): Kindness (protecting childhood and motherhood).
Reasons for founding it
“Rafaqa” is one of Qatar Charity’s humanitarian initiatives, concerned with the issues of children and orphans around the world through effective programs that help face everything that threatens or endangers their lives. It also helps in positive, fruitful interaction and in drawing in bodies and all segments of society and encouraging them to see the need for humanitarian work and bringing out its effective impact on developing society..
- Mission: Leadership in achieving the concept of social solidarity, in a way that serves humanity and achieves sustainable social development.
- Vision: Changing the concept of the traditional monthly sponsorship that the orphaned child receives by developing integrated care programs.
The launch
The initiative was launched with a sports event held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a football match that brought together stars from the Arab world and the world, with more than 18,000 spectators attending. A second edition of the match was held in 2015, with prominent local and international sports figures attending, supported then by various bodies and individuals.
The “Rafaqa” website, the orphan sponsor’s companion in orphan care
To ease and simplify support and sponsorship, the initiative launched its own website providing support for varied projects and sponsorship for orphans worldwide on one platform, making secure electronic payment easy for the donor or sponsor wherever they are in the world. The initiative’s website, Rofaqa.com, offers the chance to get to know the orphan in terms of the country they live in and the main needs and requirements the orphan may have in order to live with dignity.
Local and international partnerships to strengthen orphan sponsorship in areas with limited resources
The initiative also cares about involving all segments of society in its local and international events. It organizes educational, sports, training, cultural and awareness activities for its sponsored children around the world through its field offices, with the aim of bringing joy to the hearts of these children from various backgrounds.
It also cares about concluding international partnerships with global organizations, and the initiative signed a partnership agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation worth more than QAR 9 million for the benefit of the “Rafaqa” orphans initiative. The amount was set aside for eradicating polio and vaccinating orphans and children against this disease in several countries, led by Syria, where the disease returned because of the conditions and events there.
At the end of 2019, Qatar Charity and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization signed a cooperation agreement in the field of orphan care, aiming to coordinate efforts in social care and in the sponsorship of orphans, low-income families, students and people with special needs directed to refugees living in Jordan and members of the local community.
Promotional campaigns
The initiative launched many promotional campaigns for orphans to highlight their suffering and ease it. In 2014 it launched the (Rafaqa) campaign in cooperation with Jeem TV and Al Jazeera Mubasher within a series of episodes of a live television program supporting and caring for orphans around the world, hosting many guests and figures who spoke about the suffering of the orphaned child in the world and the means of care available from the Rafaqa initiative as an integrated care system for the orphan. The campaign raised more than QAR 18 million.
Ambassadors of the initiative
The initiative team also organized social events in schools, institutions and public places with the initiative’s ambassadors present, most notably the distinguished media figure Mohammed Saadoun al-Kuwari and former Sevilla and Mali national team player Frederic Kanoute, and other stars of sport and media.
Community engagement: the “Rafaqa Challenge”
Donors in Qatar and around the world responded to the Rafaqa initiative, which helped raise the number of sponsorships after its launch. Volunteer initiatives also engaged with Qatar Charity, as did school students and their teaching and administrative staff and Qatar University students, by announcing orphan sponsorship and friendly competition in this field.
The steady rise in the sponsorship rate
The number of orphans sponsored by Qatar Charity rose after the launch of the Rafaqa initiative, as an incubator and marketing platform for orphans at Qatar Charity. The initiative was able to sponsor more than 77,500 people four years after its launch (that is, by the end of 2017), at a rate of about 50 sponsored children every 24 hours, which is more than 18,000 a year.
While the number of the charity’s sponsored people before its launch (end of 2013) was about 28,500 orphans, it reached about 106,000 sponsored people by the end of 2017.
At the end of November 2019 the number of sponsored people reached 162,000 (including 145,000 orphans), an increase estimated at 116,500 orphans, a rise of more than (5 times). It is estimated that Qatar Charity sponsors about 3 orphans an hour.
During this period a number of special projects were also carried out for orphans, the most important of which was the Sheikha Aisha bint Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Attiyah (may God have mercy on her) city in Sudan, from which 5,000 orphans benefit. It was launched in 2017.
Awards
In appreciation of its role and distinguished achievements, the Rafaqa initiative received two awards:
The “Excellence in Orphan Care in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (Kafil) 2014” award in Bahrain
The award was presented at a ceremony held at the start of the training forum for orphan care leaders and experts in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, held in the Bahraini capital Manama on 28 and 29 December 2014, in cooperation with the Humanitarian Sector Department of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations Global Compact program.
The Sanabil Award for Social Responsibility in Orphan Care Institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council for 2015
The award came in the category of community initiatives in orphan care at the Gulf level, in appreciation of the performance of the “Rafaqa” initiative that Qatar Charity sponsors.
From the book “Rafaqa … the Largest Family in the World” – Ghiras series no. (11) – Qatar Charity (adapted).
Read also:
- The Orphan Sponsorship Guide: Its Rulings and Steps to Begin
- Trusted Ways to Sponsor an Orphan
- Orphans Around the World: The Phenomenon and Its Causes
Frequently asked questions about the Rafaqa initiative
What is the Rafaqa initiative?
The Rafaqa initiative is Qatar Charity’s umbrella dedicated to orphan sponsorship and care. It includes sponsorship, health, education and psychological support programs, and has its own website and app that let the sponsor follow the sponsored child directly.
Why was the initiative called Rafaqa?
The name expresses the intended relationship between sponsor and sponsored child: companionship and accompaniment, not just a money transfer. It reflects the shift of sponsorship from a one-off donation to a lasting relationship in which the sponsor follows the effect of the sponsorship year after year.
How do I sponsor an orphan through Rafaqa?
Through the Rafaqa website or app, or through Qatar Charity’s usual channels. You choose the type of sponsorship and the country, and sponsorship is annual and renewable, with periodic reports on the sponsored child and the possibility of communicating with them.
Can I follow the sponsored child after the sponsorship starts?
Yes. The initiative provides periodic reports on the sponsored child’s educational and health situation, which is one of the aims for which the website and app were created: turning sponsorship from a payment into a relationship whose effect can be followed and reassured about.
