DOHA: Youths planning marriages can get financial assistance and pre-marital counseling by visiting a local charity booths in Darb Al Saai, a venue for celebrating the National Day activities this year.
RAF Foundation, participating in the Darb Al Saai National Day celebrations, is providing awareness to the youth about getting married and living a happy married life under its programme called “Ifaf” or Chastity.
The foundation has facilitated marriage of about 1,600 Qatari couples since its establishment in 2009, said Ali Al Kuwari, Director of Public Relations.
Several officials from the foundation are present at the charity’s booth interacting visitors, registering the youths who want to join its programme, answering questions and providing pre marital counseling to others. The officials are also giving out a number of brochures about their activities, and books about living a happy marriage life to the visitors.
“As part of our participation to the National Day this year will be to highlight the importance of marriage and building a strong family which is a nucleus of every society,” he said.
The foundation is also offering several family related lectures delivered by Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed AlBouanain, the director of the Ifaf project committee and the lectures last for about 30 minutes every day.
Al Kuwari urged the public to visit their booths in Darb Al Saai and get to know their activities and different programs that will benefit them.
Darb Al Saai visitors were also getting an opportunity to see how their grandparents and people of past generations lived in Qatar. The National Day celebrations at the venue are show casing several heritage activities aimed to bridge the gap between the old and present.
Rashid Saif Al Nuaimi, one of the Qatari visitors, said the organisers of the Darb Al Saai events had succeeded in merging the Qatar’s past and present in one area.
“I am very happy to be here with my family and show my children how their grandparents lived,” he said. “Every time my children see things like these folk games and heritage performances they have a lot of questions, through these questions their knowledge is enriched and they can be grateful to our rulers who have made a lot of transformations to this country.”
Mohammed Al Mansouri, another Qatari, said the activities at Darb Al Saai were both recreational and educational and the emphasis on the Qatar’s past showcasing old professions like fishing, riding camels and handcrafts for women had enriched his understanding of his country.
“I have also been moved by the organisation of the tents that completely depict the life of the desert several years before,” he said.
Darb Al Saai is the Route of the messenger that was used by (the Manadeeb) delegates whom the Founder Sheikh Jasim Bin Mohammad bin Thani would entrust to deliver his internal and external instructions and directives, according to a release from the organisers yesterday. “Those men were known for their outstanding characters; loyalty, obedience, courage and insight and that is way they were chosen to play such a very sensitive role in those difficult times.”
The delegates were well trained as camel riders, horse riders, sharp shooters, falconers, and very adequate and diplomatic.
The Idea behind Darb Al Saai, is to embody those characters through variety of different activities such as camel riding, horse riding, shooting and many other local activities that reflect the Qatari and local culture and national identity.
Among the local and cultural activities include the Maqtar activity, where visitors witness the upbringing of the younger generation on decency and prober way of receiving and welcoming guests through Qatari style inside the majlise.
Other activities include Arabic coffee making, telling historic and heroic stories of the ancestors, reciting their poems and listening to Qatari authentic melodies played by a local musical instrument the Rababa.
The is also training younger generation on falconry hunting, and Daaw Altayr (Bird taming) which is response of the bird to instructions plus a show for saloukis.
Inside Al Fareeg tent, the visitors enjoy the finals of local and cultural performances and acts like Lmradah (women only) which is an act performed by girls. Lmrdaha was an act by women and girls in Qatar in the past celebrating the return of men from their pear hunting season.
There is also Poetry reciting by boys and girls from different schools and Arda is performed by male student’s schools in Al Fareeg tent.
The Peninsula
