The Fund helps the the ‘Al Sikak’ and ‘Rumaila’ villages to the north of the field, the community of the Zubair district and Abu Sukhair and Al Khora village, close to the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant.

Some of these communities are isolated, have high levels of unemployment and limited amenities. And because they are Rumaila‘s closest neighbours, we have prioritized the SWF‘s resources to help these people (although we also support initiatives in Basra).

Nothing is more important than health. To this end, the Fund has invested in significantly raising the quality of healthcare in the locality by improving access and availability to healthcare treatment, the quality of medical care and equipment, and the provision of vaccination and medicine.

This has been achieved by:

• ROO’s construction of the new Community Health Clinic at Al Khora, with an estimated 10,000 residents benefiting from its range of medical services (read more here)
• a new mobile health clinic which now serves around 7,000 people from both the Rumaila and Al Sikak villages villages (read more here)
• a women’s health volunteer programme that typically makes 1,600 home visits a month.

In addition, the Centre for Radiation Therapy at the Basra Al-Sadir Teaching Hospital has been provided with a world-class computed tomography (CT) scanner diagnostic tool for patients (see press release here)

Schools in the area have been refurbished by ROO. Insulation, lighting, electrical wiring, paving and fencing facilities have been upgraded to provide a better teaching environment; female latrines were constructed to counter what had been identified as the main barrier to regular female school attendance. 

The SWF-funded Women’s Training Centre in Al Khora village provides training for vulnerable women, most of whom are the main breadwinners for their families. More than 400 women have completed voluntary training courses to learn new skills through the scheme. Many have gone on to set up their own community businesses (read more here). 

These include:

• the purchase and installation of new pumps at a water pumping facility in Al Sikak village supplying 450 households with directly piped water
• over 1,000 homes in the Al Khora community now enjoy water for washing and bathing that is directly piped to their homes
• 52.1 km of new and upgraded road, improving access to the outside world and services
• 7km of new high-tension cabling to improve the intermittent electricity supply
• development of sport facilities and recreational parks and the repair and re-installation of street lighting.­­­