By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
A friendly football match between teams from Nepal and the Philippines will be held on November 29 in a bid to thank HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for his call to raise funds and donate relief goods to victims of Typhoon Haiyan.
The Qatar Solidarity Day campaign has raised more than QR30mn, which will be given to those affected by natural disasters in Somalia and the Philippines.
The match, called “Kick for a Cause”, will be held at Al Arabi Sports Club in the afternoon. It is being organised by Al Ahli Sports Club with the help of Qatar Football Association, Qatar Stars League, the Philippine embassy and United Filipino Organisations in Qatar (UFOQ).
The initiative, undertaken by Nasser Yacoub Laram, part owner of Al Ahli and Al Arabi sports clubs, also aims to raise more funds as part of the response to the nationwide call of HH the Emir.
UFOQ chairman Jhin Tabuzo has urged overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Qatar to watch the game as a way of showing “our sincere gratitude to the State of Qatar for helping our compatriots back home”.
Entrance is free and the organisers will donate QR10 for every person who watches the game. There will be free transport services to and from the venue. Buses will start loading passengers at 12.30pm at Quality Hypermarket, Al Attiyah Market and Bank Street (Tarbar Gate).
Besides bazaars and a mini food festival, students from Philippine International School-Qatar and local talent from the Nepal community will take part in the cultural presentations.
Various expatriate groups and individuals also organised events for a cause over the weekend, raising funds to help victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
In Mesaieed, some 112 cyclists joined the Wet and Dry Trails 2013 “bike for a cause” held near Al Afjah Heritage Village on Friday morning.
Farhan al-Sayed, founder
of Qatar Chain Reaction and Qatar Extreme Sports, led the awards ceremony for winners of the three categories. He was joined by Abdurahman Tolentino from Pinoy Mountain Bikers-Qatar, the group that organised the event.
At Philippine School Doha, a special event called “Unity for a Cause” was organised by the Philippine embassy to thank Al Asmakh Charity, one of the institutions in the country that has helped raise funds. It was attended by Filipino Muslim groups, embassy officials and UFOQ members.
On the Corniche, more than 200 expatriate workers gathered at 4pm on Saturday for the “Walk-Run for a cause” that raised around QR7,000. It will be handed over to the Philippine Red Cross and Parsons Brinckerhoff – America will donate the same amount. It had earlier announced that it was ready to match the money raised from the activity.
Philippine Ambassador Crescente Relacion told Gulf Times that the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) has offered unlimited air shipment of donated goods to the Philippines.
Lekhwiya had airlifted the initial 80 tonnes of relief goods donated by the Qatari government.
“We have utilised the 20 tonnes (of free shipment) from Qatar Airways,” he said. The actual shipment totaled 19.4 tonnes, given to various government agencies and non-government organisations.
Relacion stressed that donations would be accepted until November 28 at the embassy.
Filipino organisations hold activities for a cause to raise funds.
