Reach Out to Asia (Rota) participated in the three-day Yemen humanitarian crisis conference organised in Doha recently by Qatar Charity (QC).

At the end of the conference, Rota, in partnership with QC, pledged $2mn in aid with the aim of supporting the education sector in Yemen.

Rota is a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF).

The conference, titled “The humanitarian crisis in Yemen: the challenges and prospects of humanitarian response”, was held in collaboration with 13 regional and international humanitarian organisations. Rota’s participation in the conference was aligned with QF’s mission of using education as a tool to unlock human potential.

QC invited Essa al-Mannai, executive director of Rota, to chair the educational workshop that was held on the first day of the conference to shed light on the state of the education sector during the Yemeni crisis.

Al-Mannai said, “We were focusing on the development of education opportunities in Yemen long before the current crisis. However, today, it seems more urgent than ever to join global efforts and share our expertise in order to provide effective and immediate solutions for the half-a-million students who have been forced out of education due to political conflicts.

"I would like to thank Qatar Charity for their efforts and congratulate them on the great success of this important conference.”

The conference brought together more than 150 experts specialised in humanitarian assistance in the fields of education, health, water and environment, and economic empowerment to provide humanitarian relief to the people of Yemen.

Participants discussed the need for the establishment of a collaboration framework that brings local, regional, and international organisations together to implement an action plan, starting with re-enrolling students in schools and improving education conditions in Yemen.

Yousef bin Ahmed al-Kuwari, CEO of QC, said: "We would like to thank Rota for the great support it has provided. This includes pledging $2mn in collaboration with Qatar Charity, as well as Mr Essa al-Mannai chairing the workshop and sharing Rota’s expertise in how to overcome challenges facing the education sector in Yemen.”

Participants are scheduled to meet again on March 7 in order to establish an office to co-ordinate and organise relief work in Yemen, which will feature the launch of an integrated plan by GCC countries to support Yemen in various fields.