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RCA project for people with special needs in Palestine unprecedented

May 30, 2010 - 06:12 -

WAM Ramallah, May 30th, 2010 (WAM)--The Red Crescent Authority (RCA) project has scored unprecedented success in Palestine. The project sponsors 200 Palestinians with special needs who in turn support over 1, 000 people.

The RCA sponsors commercial shops' projects. It assigns each disabled person to run small project funded through concessional loan by the RCA. The loan is paid back in monthly instalment.

Palestinian officials at the Ministry of Social Affairs agreed that the RCA project is very successful and covers all West Bank provinces, adding that the projects suggested by the beneficiaries are very successful.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official in charge of RCA projects in Palestine, said the idea of commercial shops funded by the RCA is 100 per cent successful, adding that he inspected some of them.

He noted that the UAE support to the handicapped Palestinians has once more revived hope that they could produce in any form.

Dawood Al Deek, assistant undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs in Palestine told Emirates News Agency (WAM) in an interview that the commercial shops programme is the first of its kind to be conducted by the ministry with support from the RCA, adding that it has achieved remarkable success because it covers large number of disabled people, who successfully run their projects.

He noted that the capital of project is AED4million paid by the RCA in cash, adding that the amount was used in making 200 commercial projects, among others, agricultural and animal farms.

"Each disabled was given a loan of $5, 000 to set his project and has to pay $100 as monthly instalment after six- month grace period till his project becomes successful. Then the loan is rescheduled so that the beneficiary pays to the ministry, which in turn gives a similar loan to another beneficiary", said Al Deek.

WAM/MN