Qatar Katrina Fund

by Brad Kessie

PASS CHRISTIAN (WLOX) -- Tuesday was a day to celebrate the resiliency of Pass Christian's children. Community leaders gathered at the site of the new Boys and Girls Club. With ceremonial shovels in hand, they broke ground on the Qatar Center. That complex that will give children in the Pass a place to relax, and a place to learn.

Before the shovel ceremony, Sydney Labat stood in the middle of a partially finished building. The 12-year-old was asked to welcome guests to what's about to become her home away from home.

"I think it's a really cool facility. It's a lot better than we had before," she said.

Katrina destroyed that Boys and Girls Club. Sydney was only nine when her community lost that facility, and she lost a place to hang out with her friends.

"So it was really hard for me, just know that a place, another home away from home wasn't there for me anymore," she remembered.

But, a $5 million contribution from the country of Qatar provided the financial backing her club needed to rebuild its Pass Christian unit. Dean Dilley represented the Qatar Katrina Fund at Tuesday's ceremony.

"The Qatar Katrina Fund is small in relation to what needs to be done. But with your help, we've tried to make a difference," he said.

After his speech, Dilley grabbed a shovel and joined Boys and Girls Club children for a groundbreaking ceremony.

"Everybody look up and say Qatar Center," the photographer said.

The groundbreaking for was held for ceremonial purposes, because a significant chunk of the complex was already built. Sam Burke led dignitaries on a tour of the two story facility.

"This will be their first point of contact," he told his tour group, walking past the facility's check in area.

Burke said the actual building should be open in January.

"This is tangible, something people can wrap their arms around and say we can get excited about this," he said.

The Qatar Center is on the back side of Pass Christian's new K-8 school. In return for using the land, the Boys and Girls Club built a new gymnasium that the school district and the club will share. That relationship is symbolic of the partnerships created since Katrina, to make sure children are not forgotten.

"This new Boys and Girls Club that you're building is a reminder to all of us that our children matter very much, and deserve the best that we can give them," said Dilley.

Pass Christian school board member Becky Montgomery emphasized that point when she spoke before the groundbreaking.

"Please tell me where else there will be a safe place for children, from age six weeks to high school seniors, with people who care about them and love them and help them be the best that they can be," she said, with tears dripping down her cheek.

The Boys and Girls Club children who attended the party had a message for their contributors and guests.

"Thank you America," they shouted.

And thank you Qatar, their counselors said, for making a dream come true.

Representatives with the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast have two other Harrison County units that must be rebuilt. They're waiting to approve final drawings of those facilities, so construction can begin. The goal right now is to open new Boys and Girls Clubs in north Gulfport and Biloxi by next summer.

http://www.wlox.com/global/story.asp?s=8586221

Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, emir of Qatar, is one of the world's richest men, spending his time tending the oil wells in his Persian Gulf emirate. In 2005, television reports of the suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina pierced his heart Ð and caused him to open his checkbook. Sheik Hamad gave $100 million to the Gulf Coast and this week visited New Orleans to see how his money had been spent. "We are part of this society. It is good for everyone to help out. I really felt sorry for the people," the emir told The New York Times on Wednesday. Certainly, donating to needy poor people on the U.S. Gulf Coast holds no special political advantage for Qatar. His was an act of kindness that deserves to be celebrated.

By Jarvis DeBerry

Since Hurricane Katrina, we've been searching for a leader who will step in and step up during moments of crisis, a leader whose generosity and selflessness won't be questioned but whose very presence in the city will met with an outpouring of gratitude.

We assumed that the person or people most likely to demonstrate those traits would be close to us; that is, that the leadership would be inspired by proximity to the disaster and by familiarity with this area's people and its long-standing problems.

We may have assumed, too, that Washington would play a bigger role, that as New Orleans is part of America, America's leadership would not only be overly generous in response to our trouble, but quick about it, too.

However, President Bush moved rather quickly from saying his administration would do whatever was necessary to guarantee our recovery to exaggerating the amount of money we had received and implying that we were all ingrates.

"I want to remind people in that part of the world," the president said in February 2006, as if we were now a part of some foreign land, "$85 billion is a lot." Leave aside the fact that nobody here had come close to seeing $85 billion at that point, what happened to "we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives"?

If Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the amir of Qatar, had had that attitude, that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are "that part of the world," he wouldn't have felt a need to give $100 million of his nation's money to help us.

But as his highness explained Wednesday morning, he felt a kinship with New Orleans when he saw breaking news footage of the city under water and its people desperate for rescue. Qatar is flat just like New Orleans is flat. New Orleans is surrounded by water. Qatar is surrounded on three sides by the Persian Gulf. What had happened to us could happen to them.

He also said he knew immediately what kind of help this area would need. It would need money for its hospitals, for its schools and to rebuild housing. And he knew the amount of money it would take to make a real difference in those areas would have to be substantial. So he made a decision to give $100 million and told his advisers to make sure every bit of it reached people who needed it.

Unlike recipients of a certain federally funded program, there have been no reports that recipients of the Qatar Katrina Fund were fingerprinted or that they had to sit for a mugshot. Recipients demonstrated their need without being asked to surrender their dignity.

The amount of money the amir gave the Gulf Coast is only .12 percent of the amount President Bush falsely suggested we'd received.

Yet this week, all across New Orleans, people were falling over themselves for the opportunity to thank the sheikh for his outsized generosity.

That puts the lie to any claim that we have been ungrateful, and it also shows that we recognize the difference between bureaucratic promises and actual help.

On Wednesday morning, the sheikh visited Children's Hospital, where he hugged and kissed little ones who had been helped by his $5 million gift to the hospital. Five-year-old Adam Linebarger, a beneficiary of the amir's large heart, said, "I think he's a great guy, that highness."

The rest of us do, too.

By MEGHA SATYANARAYANA

BILOXI, Miss., May 1 - The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, made his first visit to the Coast on Wednesday, to see a group of Habitat for Humanity houses his $100 million post-Katrina donation helped build.

He arrived with Gov. Haley Barbour in Blackhawk helicopters at the Seabee Base in Gulfport, then motorcaded down 44th Avenue. His first stop was at the Habitat-built home of Rodney Hart, a Memorial Hospital at Gulfport employee who was renting when Katrina hit.

As part of earning a Habitat for Humanity home, Hart had to put in several sweat-equity hours. He said every nail he hammered was worth it.

"This is going to be yours, yours to own, yours to cherish," he said in a previous interview.

The Emir continued by foot down the street, in contrast to his New Orleans visit, in which he was criticized for not leaving his car. He spoke with Habitat volunteers from Illinois, building two homes nearby.

"I am happy to see this," said the Emir at the building site. "The crisis made us neighbors. I'm proud of the development."

At the end of lunch, Barbour presented the Emir with a Walter Anderson print of two doves facing each other.

"The two doves signify our gratitude," Barbour said.

The Emir and the governor then toured Northrop Grumman's shipbuilding facilities, said Barbour spokesperson Pete Smith.

Of the $100 million, $22 million went to Habitat for nearly 300 homes, all of which will be done by June 2008. Housing creates stability, said Kent Adcock, director of business development and community relations of the Mississippi Gulf Coast chapter of Habitat for Humanity. And with stability comes a more rapid recovery.

Other recipients of the Qatari funds included children's programs and health care programs.

The Boys and Girls Club got $5 million, which will go toward a new 28,000 square foot children's center in Pass Christian, said Executive Director Sam Burke at a luncheon held in honor of the Emir's visit. Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran said some funds went to one of their KaBoom! playgrounds. Coastal Family Health Center received $3.4 million and Memorial Hospital received $10.8 million to serve the uninsured and underinsured.

NEW ORLEANS, May 1 - HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani visited the Children's Hospital in New Orleans yesterday along with members of the delegation accompanying him. Steve Worley, president and chief executive officer of the hospital, praised the Emir for his contribution to two pediatric clinics for children of low income families and the fund he has set up for providing healthcare to children affected by the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Alan Robson, medical director of the hospital, said more than 17,000 patients have so far benefited from the Qatar healthcare fund for Katrina victims.

In his speech, the Emir said the hospital staff embody the best medical traditions and have exhibited the courage needed for serving society during natural catastrophes. He then toured the hospital and met child patients.

On Tuesday evening, the Emir attended a reception at Qatar Hall in Tulane University. University president Scott Cowen thanked Qatar for its contributions to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said Qatar deserves praise for its contribution to the educational, healthcare and reconstruction efforts.

Other speakers thanked Qatar and the Emir for setting up the Katrina relief fund, which helped in providing healthcare and health-related training.

In a brief address, the Emir thanked Tulane University for naming the hall after the State of Qatar. He also praised the progress in recovery made by New Orleans in the wake of the hurricane.

The Emir received a key to New Orleans City awarded to him in recognition of his contributions to the relief efforts.

The key was presented by Mayor Nagin at a dinner banquet hosted by university president Cowen.

The Emir received Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal on Tuesday. The talks reviewed bilateral ties and ways of boosting them in various fields.

The meeting was attended by HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Fahd al-Thani, chief of the Emiri Protocols, HE Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saud al-Thani, Chief of the Emiri Diwan, HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, director of the Emir's office, HE Saad Mohamed al-Rumeihi, private secretary of the Emir, and Ali Fahd al-Hajiri, Qatari ambassador to the United States.

By John Pope

NEW ORLEANS, May 1 - When Qatar's ruler visited Children's Hospital on Wednesday morning, the grown-ups were the scheduled speakers, but the children delivered the message.

Lined up front and center in the hospital's crowded lobby were infants and children, some with IV lines dangling from their tiny arms. Many had benefited from Qatar's $5 million contribution toward their treatment.

One of those patients, 5-year-old Adam Linebarger, reached up from his child-size wheelchair to hand Qatar's amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, a thank-you card he had designed himself. The front featured a picture of Adam, who has spina bifida, a congenital defect of the spinal column. Inside his card were a heart and these words: "Love, Adam."

"I think he's a great guy, that highness," Adam said later.

Even though the Linebargers have insurance, the Qatar gift -- part of $100 million the oil-rich nation gave to help hurricane recovery -- has helped Adam's family meet co-payments. This is no small amount because, for instance, an operation Adam needed cost more than $300,000, said Wendy Linebarger, his mother.

Without this assistance, the family could not have afforded to return to Kenner after Hurricane Katrina for treatment at Children's Hospital, Linebarger said.

"It was very rewarding to say, 'Thank you, Your Highness,' in person," she said. "He was very emotional."

The amir greeted the children and their parents after a brief ceremony. Moving from one child to the next, he chatted and occasionally bestowed a kiss or a hug.

Children's Hospital was the amir's last stop on a 36-hour visit to New Orleans that let him see how his country's money had been spent in three broad categories: health care, education and housing. After leaving the Uptown hospital, he and his retinue flew to Gulfport, Miss., to meet Gov. Haley Barbour, take a helicopter tour of the area hit by Katrina and visit more sites that have benefited from Qatar's largesse.

Horror on television
The decision to put money into hurricane relief came the day after the amir, like much of the rest of the world, watched Katrina's wrath on television, he said at breakfast Wednesday.

Once the amir and his advisers settled on the areas where their country's aid would go, he formed a committee. He told its members to find the right recipients and to make sure that every penny went to people who needed help.

At Children's Hospital on Henry Clay Avenue, Qatar's gift has helped pay for the care for about 700 inpatients and about 17,000 outpatient visits, said Dr. Alan Robson, Children's medical director.

Many recipients, such as the Linebargers, had been overwhelmed when they learned how much their care would cost, he said.

"To see the relief on their faces when they knew help was available was truly gratifying," Robson said.

"This means a lot to our kids in the hospital, because a lot of our patients couldn't have afforded the care," said Linda Middleton, a physical therapist.

Another beneficiary, 1-year-old Randy Young, snoozed in his mother's arms during the ceremony for the amir. A medical mask covered most of his face because he suffers from an immune-system problem, and an IV line provided liquid nutrition because that is the only way he can eat, said his mother, Tonnette Young.

Randy's three medications cost about $2,000 each month, she said. "If I hadn't had this, it would have to come straight out of my pocket," she said of the money from Qatar.

Standing nearby was T.J. Briley, 6, with his mother, Brandi Berkeley. Even though she and T.J. have not received Qatar money -- T.J. had a ruptured appendix -- she was clearly emotional after she and her son met the amir. Her eyes were moist and red.

"I'm just happy that there was a donation," Berkeley said. "It's phenomenal that somebody would donate this."

Amir is grateful
In addition to the $5 million for patient care, Qatar provided $400,000 for two clinics in underserved areas. The total amount constituted the largest single gift in the hospital's history, said Steve Worley, its president and chief executive officer.

Although Worley and Robson heaped praise on the amir and his Middle Eastern country during the lobby ceremony, the amir turned the tables on them in a brief speech that he delivered in Arabic.

Speaking through an interpreter, the amir expressed his gratitude to the hospital's staff for working "to help those who have suffered the most."

This was the amir's first trip to New Orleans since the storm. Compared with what he had seen on television, "I was surprised how nice the city is and how beautiful it is," he said, in English, at breakfast.

Seeing people building houses in areas that the floods had flattened provided "a reassuring factor," he said.

And the amir smiled when he spoke of meeting scholarship recipients who told him they had been disconsolate because they didn't think they'd be able to continue their studies until the Qatar aid came through.

The total -- $19.7 million -- has, so far, helped 2,088 students at Louisiana State, Loyola, Tulane and Xavier universities.

Although the amir said much of the motivation for the $100 million gift came from a natural desire to help, he said the disaster made him think about how similar his country and New Orleans are.

Both are flat, he said, and both have plenty of water nearby. The Persian Gulf surrounds Qatar on three sides, he said, "so if there were a tsunami . . . Qatar could be a real disaster."

By Fran Simon

Members of the Tulane community showed their appreciation to the people of Qatar on Tuesday (April 29), stretching out their hands to thank the country's visiting Amir for millions of dollars in Tulane scholarships and healthcare assistance after Hurricane Katrina.

His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, receives thanks from Tulane President Scott Cowen and Qatar Tulane Scholars from left to right: Michelle Maurin, Thu-Van Nguyen, Dana Webb, D. Michael Lamb, Matthew Goitia and Saira Mehmood. (Photos by Paula Burch-Celentano)

His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, received the thank yous with regal smiles as individuals shook his hand and as Tulane bestowed honors during a special ceremony and reception in the Lavin-Bernick Center on the Tulane University uptown campus.

His Highness the Amir, as he is formally addressed, was on a visit to the Gulf Coast region April 29Ð30 to review the progress of the Qatar Katrina Fund that was established with a $100 million gift from the people of Qatar to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. From the total pledge of $100 million, more than $82 million has been distributed thus far.

As the Amir and his delegation entered the LBC ballroom, led by Tulane President Scott Cowen, the 200 assembled guests stood and applauded. Then a hush swept over the room as Cowen introduced the Amir to members of the Board of Tulane, faculty and staff of the community clinic supported by $5 million from the Qatar Katrina Fund, and representatives of the 108 Tulane students who have received Qatar scholarships from $10 million given to Tulane.

"This is a terrific honor," said Matthew Goitia, a senior majoring in finance and accounting from New Orleans who is graduating from Tulane this spring. "I thank him for his generosity. He stepped up when others didn't, at a time of need. It really shows the man cares. I will be indebted for as long as I live." His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, discusses health care in New Orleans with Dr. Karen DeSalvo, executive director of the Tulane University Community Health Center and vice dean of community affairs at Tulane.

At the reception, the Amir was welcomed with a musical tribute as Irvin Mayfield, artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra at Tulane, played a solo rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In" on trumpet. Mayfield is cultural ambassador to the City New Orleans and the State of Louisiana.

Cowen presented the Amir with a proclamation from the Board of Tulane and the President's Medal, the highest honor the university president bestows. Cowen also officially dedicated the LBC ballroom as the Qatar Ballroom.

"It is very hard to find the words to express the appreciation on behalf of all the people of Louisiana to His Highness the Amir and the people of Qatar," Cowen said. "I stand in awe of all that Qatar has achieved and I marvel at the sensitivity and the efficiency with which they identified needs and awarded grants along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. It was not the differences but similarities the Amir and the people of Qatar saw on that day in August of 2005 É over 8,000 miles away, His Highness mobilized his government to respond to our crisis."

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin said "Thank you, thank you, thank you," and promised to give the Amir a key to the city at a private dinner following the reception at No. 2 Audubon Place, the president's home.

In response to the recognition, the Amir spoke in Arabic as a translator read the prepared remarks in English.

"Our goal was to deliver help as directly as possible to the victims," said His Highness the Amir. "We were particularly interested in projects that help displaced individuals and families return to their communities Ñ for example, through housing assistance, funding for medical care and student scholarships." The Amir concluded his remarks in English, personally encouraging students to spend a year in Qatar.

Dr. Karen DeSalvo, executive director of the Tulane University Community Health Center and vice dean of community affairs at Tulane, thanked the Amir on behalf of the thousands of patients "who literally have no other realistic access to health care." In the downtown community clinic and a mobile medical unit funded by the Qatari gift, more than 1,000 patients receive services each month, DeSalvo said.

"The Qatar Katrina Fund has helped us heal this region and this city, and for that we are enormously grateful."

NEW ORLEANS, April 30 - Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the amir of Qatar, watched on television as floodwaters swamped New Orleans in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

The 7,800 miles between his home and ours didn't matter. He saw people in great distress, and he decided to help.

In an act of immense generosity, he committed $100 million to the recovery of education, health care and housing in the city. And he wisely took steps to ensure that the money would be used in concrete ways to help individual residents.

This week he is here to see what has been done with his gift. He will find results and deep gratitude not only from people who have benefited directly but from the community as a whole. The damage from the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina was vast, leaving almost the entire city to be rebuilt. That takes time and a level of resources none of us could have fathomed before Katrina.

Qatar's $100 million has allowed 2,088 students to stay in college, provided community-based health care for the needy and restored homes and supplemented rent for hundreds of poor residents here and across the Gulf Coast.

Juan Marshall, whose home in the Lower 9th Ward was destroyed, is one of the students who received scholarship money from Qatar's donation to Xavier University. "Without this scholarship I don't know that I would still be here. Without the scholarship I don't know that I would have been able to pay tuition," he said.

Mr. Marshall was looking forward to his chance to thank the amir personally. "It's a thrill to be able to say, 'Thanks to your country for being generous enough to let me continue my education.' " The sentiment comes from all of us.

By ADAM NOSSITER

NEW ORLEANS, April 30 - One of the world's richest men toured one of America's poorest cities on Tuesday, a whistle-stop visitor from a distant land come to see his good works in a place still needing a stranger's kindness.

After Hurricane Katrina, the emir of Qatar donated $100 million to the Gulf region, intended to help rebuild housing, hospitals and schools. But the effect of his visit to New Orleans on Tuesday seemed muted, as two universes peered at each other through the dark smoked glass of his motorcade.

It was through that filter that the genial, burly emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, saw the unhealed landscape of the Lower Ninth Ward, touring the scarred lots in a police-guided caravan of luxury vans and cars as the few people out in the spring sunshine stared blankly back at the opaque windows. Open-mouthed astonishment registered on some of the faces at street level.

The emir did not get out to walk through the ruined neighborhood. The ruler of a tiny country ranked third on a United Nations wealth list, he had given generously, and Tuesday he sped on, later telling students at Xavier University that "we are all neighbors in a small and fragile world" but deciding in this instance against crossing a bridge too far.

Still, the emir was met with plenty of gratitude at Xavier, the only historically black Catholic college in the country and a $17.5 million beneficiary of the Qatar Katrina fund.

The Children's Hospital here, Habitat for Humanity, Tulane, Loyola and Louisiana State Universities, students seeking scholarships, the area's homeless Ñ all have benefited from the oil-and-gas-borne largess of Qatar, one of the most open-handed of the donors to come to the Gulf Coast's aid after the disastrous 2005 storm. Two other Persian Gulf nations, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have also given.

Sheik Hamad said he was particularly touched by what happened here, as he explained in halting but resourceful English, in an interview at his hotel. Besides, his country hosts a big American military base that has been critical in the Iraq war, as well as to satellites of a number of American universities, and the emir cultivates tight relations with this country. Former President George Bush met him at the airport in Houston on Monday.

"We saw what happened to Orleans," the emir said in the interview. "We were watching on television. We are part of this society. It is good for everyone to help out. I really felt sorry for the people."

As he spoke, his daughter Sheikha Hind, a recent graduate of Duke, kept a watchful eye.

The emir has focused his money on education here, as he has at home. "The day oil and gas will finish, we will not go back to our camels," he said. For now though, his desert country holds the world's third-largest proven reserves of natural gas.

Sheik Hamad, not used to the attention, submitted patiently to questions while aides swirled about him. Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, came to visit. Then it was off, police sirens blaring, through the streets of New Orleans.

Later, at Xavier, students assembled to thank him, the university's president, Norman C. Francis, greeted him, and the emir beamed. He had insisted on seeing the fruits of his money personally, said an American in the entourage.

The emptiness of the streets had affected him, the emir said, as it does many visitors. "I really wish to see some people come back to their homes," he said, with a bit of sadness. Brightening, he added, "I was happy to see some homes being built."

Tulane, Xavier students benefit from nation's $100 million gift

By John Pope

NEW ORLEANS, April 30 - Two years ago this week, the Middle Eastern kingdom of Qatar announced grants totaling $100 million to help people and institutions recover from the devastation Hurricane Katrina and its floodwaters had inflicted.

On Tuesday, Qatar's emir, the ruler of that oil-rich nation, started a two-day tour of the region to see how his country's money has been spent. All along the way, the speeches that Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani heard contained two words over and over again: Thank you.

In welcoming the emir to New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin said, "I don't know if it would be here today if it hadn't been for what you have done for us."

Nagin and other speakers were expressing gratitude for gifts that have let them build homes, attend college and expand health care, especially to people who have had more trouble getting treatment since the storm.

"I don't know of another donor who contributed so much to this city," Nagin said at a twilight reception at Tulane University. "It's truly a privilege to be here to say, 'Thank you.' "

At Tulane, where the emir was the guest of honor at a dinner at President Scott Cowen's home, Qatar scholarships have, so far, helped 108 students continue their studies, even though Katrina had wrecked every other aspect of their lives.

"I can't remember someone of his stature who visited the city, not only to see it but also to see the work that he has funded," said Yvette Jones, Tulane's chief operating officer. "How wonderful that country has been to this area when we didn't get the kind of support we needed immediately from our own government."

Because of the country's generosity and the speed with which it acted, Qatar represents "a ray of hope for all of us," Cowen said.

Praise at Xavier

Earlier in the day at Xavier University, officials expressed gratitude for money that will help pay for a much-needed expansion to the College of Pharmacy. Speakers also thanked him -- and, by extension, Qatar -- for establishing scholarships that 492 Xavier students have received so far.

Arian Gilyot, a senior accounting major at Xavier, is one of those recipients. The August 2005 storm destroyed her family's home in the Lower 9th Ward, forcing the Gilyots into exile in Mississippi. Gilyot enrolled in a community college there. She was miserable, not only because she was away from her school and her friends, but also because she knew that Xavier's $6,850 tuition would keep her from coming back.

Then she learned of the $5 million Qatar had given Xavier for scholarships for people like her whose lives had been turned inside out. Gilyot applied and got a scholarship.

Her voice halting occasionally, Gilyot told her story Tuesday to the emir at a Xavier luncheon where she represented the university's 492 scholarship recipients.

"It has made a huge difference," she said, looking directly at him. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you."

Then she translated her message into Arabic: "Shukran, shukran, shukran."

The emir and his daughter, Sheikha Hind Bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, met other scholarship recipients privately at Xavier and heard their stories.

'We are all neighbors'

In a brief speech at the luncheon, the emir said they had left him in awe.

"I admire all of you for your courage and commitment," the mustachioed, solidly built man said. "I congratulate you on what you have done."

Helping out was a natural reflex, the emir said. "In times like these, we are reminded that we are all neighbors in a fragile world."

The emir and his entourage also were at Xavier for the groundbreaking of the new College of Pharmacy, an $18 million structure to which Qatar contributed $12.5 million. Blitch/Knevel Architects of New Orleans designed it; the Leo A. Daly firm of Houston is the consulting architect.

Construction is expected to start in June, architect Ron Blitch said. When the five-story building is complete next year, it will be known as the Qatar Pharmacy Pavilion.

The ceremony took place in a white tent, which had been set up on tennis courts that will make way for the pharmacy building. Just beyond the tent stood the partially demolished structure that had been the student union, which occupies space where the pavilion will rise.

Helping bridge the gap

The building will give Xavier more space to train more pharmacy students who can help reach one of the college's goals: eliminating the disparities in treatment that minority groups receive.

For that reason, "this is terrific. It really, truly is," said Tehni Chassion, a first-year pharmacy student. He and another student, Danielle Ardoin, gave the emir a commemorative plaque after he had joined Xavier officials in turning shovels of dirt in a box inside the tent. They wielded golden shovels adorned with big, puffy ribbons done in Xavier's colors, white and gold.

The building will be connected to the campus library and the existing pharmacy building, which is scheduled to undergo a $3 million renovation for continued use in that discipline after the new structure is complete.

Planning for the new building was under way before Katrina, but Qatar's financial infusion was invaluable, university officials said.

"Your generosity and belief in our role to ensure health care ensures that this project will not be interrupted," Pharmacy Dean Wayne Harris.

The emir and his retinue came to campus after a tour of the areas Katrina and floodwaters tore apart.

On the part of campus where the audience sat, Xavier President Norman Francis said, floodwater stood as deep as 6 feet for weeks after the storm.

Qatar's generosity "enhances the city's recovery," he said.

DOHA, April 30 - HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani attending a ceremony at the New Orleans Xavier University, marking the launch of the Qatar Pharmacy building project on the campus.

Xavier University president Dr Norman Francis expressed thanks and appreciation to the scholarships the State of Qatar has offered to a number of the university students after the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. HH the Emir is on a visit to the United States.

NEW ORLEANS, April 30 - HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani yesterday attended a ceremony at the New Orleans Xavier University to mark the launch of the Qatar Pharmacy building project.

Xavier University president Dr Norman Francis, in an address, expressed thanks and appreciation to the scholarships the State of Qatar has offered to a number of the university students after the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. He affirmed that the launching of Qatar Pharmacy building project would have a positive impact in developing the region's health care services.

Xavier University College of Pharmacy Dean Wayne Harris described the ceremony as the realisation of a long-cherished dream the university.

Harris highlighted the Emir's "keenness to contribute to realise such noble goals".

The Emir also attended a luncheon hosted at the university in his honour.

A representative of the students, who gave an address, said she could complete her studies only due to the scholarship she had got from the Qatar Katrina fund. She voiced her deep thanks and appreciation to HH the Emir and the people of Qatar.

Earlier HH the Emir visited areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina in the city of New Orleans.

The Emir got acquainted with the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina which struck New Orleans in 2005 and was briefed on relief efforts.

The Emir was accompanied during the tour by Lieut Gen Robert L van Antwerp, the chief of engineers and commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Earlier, the Emir received at his residence in the City of New Orleans Lieut Gen van Antwerp.

The meeting was attended by HE Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saud al-Thani, the Chief of the Emiri Diwan, HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the director of the Emir's Office, HE Saad Mohamed al-Rumaihi, the secretary of the Emir for the follow-up affairs and Ali Fahd al-Hajeri, Qatar's ambassador to the United States.

By The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS, April 30 - A leader from the Middle Eastern country of Qatar (GUH'-tur) is touring a Gulfport neighborhood Wednesday to look at the area's recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

The emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani (Shayk Hamad bin hah-LEE-fah ahl THAH'-nee) the people of Qatar donated $100 million to establish the Qatar Katrina Fund.

Nearly $30 million of the money went to Mississippi organizations, including Habitat for Humanity.

The emir will be joined on Gulfport's 44th Street by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and the chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International, Jonathan Reckford.

NEW ORLEANS, April 30 - H.H. the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani received a key to New Orleans city awarded to him in recognition of his stances and contributions to the relief efforts exerted to help New Orleans recover from the devastating impact of Katrina Hurricane.

The key was presented to H.H. the Emir by the Mayor of New Orleans city Ray Nagin at a dinner banquet held last night by Tulane University President Dr. Scott Cowen in honor of H.H. the Emir and the accompanying delegation.

NEW ORLEANS, April 30 - H.H. the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani yesterday evening attended the reception held at Qatar Hall in Tulane University in New Orleans.

The reception was attended by a number of Their Excellencies members of the delegation accompanying H.H. the Emir.

In an address to the reception, Tulane University President Scott Cowen expressed deep thanks and appreciation to the State of Qatar, the Emir, the government and the people, for their contributions to the Katrina hurricane relief efforts, especially the setting up of a special Katrina hurricane relief fund.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said that the State of Qatar deserves praise for its contribution to the educational, health care and reconstruction efforts.

Other speakers thanked the State of Qatar, especially H.H. the Emir, for the setting up of the Katrina relief fund, which helped in providing health-care and health-related training.

In a brief address, H.H. the Emir thanked the Tulane University for naming the hall after the State of Qatar. H.H. also praised the recovery progress made by New Orleans in the wake of the hurricane.

NEW ORLEANS, April 30 - The Emir of the State of Qatar H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani visited earlier wednesday morning Children's Hospital, New Orleans. hh the emir was accompanied during the visit by their excellencies the members of the delegation accompanying hh the Emir.

At the outset of the visit, Steve Worley, president and chief executive officer of the said hospital gave an address in which he highly praised efforts of hh the emir for consolidating the hospital and his contribution to the rehabilitation of two pediatrics clinics to provide health care to the sons of the low income families in additon to the fund hh the emir has set up for providing necessary health care to children who were badly affected by the Hurricane Katrina floods.

For his part, Alan Robson, the medical director of Children's Hospital, New Orleans gave a similar address in which he pointed out that more than 17,000 patients have so far benefited from qatar health care fund and that a big number of children had reported to the mobile clinics which had been established following the Hurricane Katrina thanks to such a consolidation .

Then hh the emir delivered a speech in which he thanked the Children's Hospital, for its cooperation with qatar katrina fund adding that the hospital and all its staff are embodying the most optimal medical traditions and courage needed for serving such a society during and after occurance of the natural catastrophes.

Later hh the emir made a tour throughouth the hospital and met with a number of the sick children there.

By John Pope

NEW ORLEANS, April 29 - The amir of Qatar, the ruler of the oil-rich country that has pumped $100 million into hurricane-recovery projects, is visiting New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast today and Wednesday to see how and where the money has been spent.

During a busy two-day schedule, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani will tour schools, a hospital and health centers. He will see new houses that Qatar has paid for, and he will hear from recipients of his country's aid in three broad categories: education, health care and housing.

For instance:

-- Children's Hospital received $5.4 million, the largest single gift in the hospital's history, to care for uninsured children and to repair and re-equip two clinics.
-- Habitat for Humanity was given $22 million to build 293 homes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
-- Xavier University received $12.5 million for a new building for its College of Pharmacy.
-- Nearly $20 million was divided among Louisiana State University, Loyola University, Tulane University and Xavier University for scholarships for students whose lives were turned upside down by Hurricane Katrina.

A grateful student

For the 2,088 recipients, the money from Qatar has meant they can continue their education.

"Without this scholarship I don't know that I would still be here," said Juan Marshall, a senior music-education major at Loyola University, whose home in the Lower 9th Ward was destroyed.

"Without the scholarship I don't know that I would have been able to pay tuition," he said. "I would have had to scrounge up another loan."

Marshall and other scholarship recipients have been chosen to meet the amir today, and Marshall said he hopes he will be able to convey the depth of his gratitude.

"I think this is a wonderful opportunity to meet a dignitary from a country that cares enough to give money like that," he said. "It's a thrill to be able to say, 'Thanks to your country for being generous enough to let me continue my education.' "

The scholarships "helped kids to come back who might not have come back, whom we may have lost, and who may have dropped out for good," Xavier President Norman Francis said.

Spontaneous generosity

Qatar's philanthropy was a spontaneous act that occurred to the amir, the foreign minister and Qatar's ambassador to the United States while they were watching news coverage of the devastation that Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing floodwaters were wreaking on New Orleans.

During a visit last year, the ambassador said the three men felt they had no choice.

"We are connected," Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa said. "Anything that happens anywhere, you can't say you don't know anything about it. If you're watching it, you have to help."

But there was more to Qatar's generosity than signing checks. Dr. Karen DeSalvo, executive director of Tulane's Community Health Center, spoke of sending paperwork back and forth for six months to assure the benefactors that every penny would help people who needed care. Since then, recipients have had to show how they have spent the money.

But, recipients said, the rigor has been worth it.

The gift to Children's Hospital was "a real godsend" because it let the hospital set up clinics and care for patients with little or no insurance in areas that had been devastated, said Roger Gorman, the development director.

"For us to pay for that care for all those families . . . would certainly put a strain on our resources," he said, "so this gift really helped us take care of those families."

The $12.5 million gift for Xavier's new College of Pharmacy building will help pay for a project that had been in the planning stages before Katrina because Xavier officials had known the college would have to grow, Francis said.

Because of Qatar's generosity, the project will proceed much faster, he said, and it will be an important component in the city's recovery.

Keeping a clinic open Another factor in New Orleans' medical renaissance is Tulane's Community Health Care Clinic, which received $5 million from Qatar that will include money for a mobile unit.

"The money has meant that the community was able to receive care it wouldn't have gotten otherwise," said Dr. Karen DeSalvo, the clinic's executive director. "It meant direct services. It meant we got to keep our doors open."

Besides giving the clinic enough money to stay open after hours when other medical providers might be closed, Qatar's gift will let clinic employees take their mobile unit to far-flung parts of the New Orleans area to help people who haven't been able to get to the clinic on North Rampart Street.

DeSalvo is scheduled to meet the amir tonight at a Tulane reception. By that time, he and his retinue will have received a quick tour of the areas that Katrina slammed so they will be able to see what has been achieved and what remains to be done.

"It's important for us to convey the message that this is not going to be a quick fix," said DeSalvo, who called Qatar's largesse "an extreme example of . . . private generosity that has kept this city going."

Seeing the storm-struck areas is vital, she said.

"It's never the same when people see pictures," DeSalvo said. "They have to come and see it in person so they can say, 'Good golly, there were some serious needs in this community, and we really did the right thing.' "

NEW ORLEANS, April 29 - The emir of Qatar arrived in New Orleans Tuesday to get a first-hand look at how the $100 million his country sent the hurricane-ravaged city has been spent.

His schedule included a groundbreaking at Xavier University for a $12.5 million College of Pharmacy building, the Gulf Times reported. At a lunch in his honor, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani got the personal thanks of a student chosen to represent the hundreds who received scholarships from Qatar so that they could continue their education after Hurricane Katrina.

Much of Qatar's money went for education, with almost $20 million divided among students at Xavier, Tulane, Louisiana State University and Loyola. Juan Marshall, now a senior at Loyola majoring in music education, told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune he probably would have had to drop out after the 2005 hurricane destroyed his family home if he had not received a scholarship.

Qatar also donated $22 million to Habitat for Humanity, $5.4 million to Children's Hospital to pay for care for the uninsured and $5 million for the Community Health Center at Tulane.

Dr. Karen DeSalvo, executive director of the Tulane clinic, said Qatar was a demanding contributor, requiring proof of how money was spent.

* This article was also picked up by the Daily India and PoliticalGateway.com

NEW ORLEANS , - The Emir Of The State Of Qatar H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani received at his residence in the City Of New Orleans earlier Tuesday Morning, Lieutenant General Robert L. Van Antwerp , The Chief Of Engineers And Commander of The U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers .

Lt. Gen. Van Antwerp briefed HH the Emir on the role of the US army in the reconstruction operations of the Katrina flood stricken areas in the city of New Orleans and the other surrounding areas and the future plans set to confront such similar floods.

The meeting was attended by H.E. Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Saud Al Thani, The Chief Of The Emiri Diwan , H.E. Sheikha Hind Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, The Director Of Hh The Emir's Office , H.E. Saad Mohamed Al-Rumaihi, The Secretary of HH The Emir for the Follow Up- affairs and H.E. Ali Fahd Al-Hajeri, Qatar's Ambassador accredited to the United States of America.

NEW ORLEANS, April 29 - The Emir of the State of Qatar H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani attended the ceremony held at the New Orleans Xavier University earlier Tuesday for the launch of Qatar Pharmacy building project at the university campus.

The launching ceremony was attended by their Excellencies the members of the delegation accompanying HH the Emir.

At the outset of the ceremony, President Dr. Norman Francis delivered an address in which he expressed thanks and appreciation to the scholarships the State Of Qatar has offered to a number of the university students after the hurricane Katrina affirming however that the launching of Qatar pharmacy building project will produce a positive impact in the developing of the health care services in all areas.

For his part, Xavier University College of Pharmacy Dean Wayne Harris also addressed the ceremony guests and said ceremony of today has witnessed the realization of a dream the university students have ever dreamed of , namely expansion of its facilities and installations to provide scholarships to largest number of students and upgrade the health care services .

Dean Wayne Harris also highlighted HH the emir's due keenness to contribute to realize such goals.

Then HH the emir , the Xavier University president and the college of pharmacy dean have jointly made public the launching of the project.

NEW ORLEANS, April 29 -The Emir of the State of Qatar H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani attended the luncheon hosted at the New Orleans Xavier University earlier Tuesday in honour of HH the emir and the accompanying delegation marking the launching of Qatar Pharmacy building project at the university campus.

At the outset of the luncheon party, HH the emir got acquainted with the miniature of the Qatar Pharmacy building and then Xavier University College of Pharmacy Dean Wayne Harris gave an address in which he made clear that the Qatar Katrina fund consolidation had been allocated for the rebuilding and re-expansion of the college of pharmacy campus to provide scholarships for a bigger number of students.

Then a girl student gave an address on behalf of the students who obtained scholarships from the state of Qatar in which she could only complete her studies thanks to the scholarship she got from the Qatar Katrina fund, the matter which has created a great change in her educational course. She voiced her deep thanks and appreciation to HH the emir and the people of Qatar.

Then HH the emir gave an address on the occasion in which he voiced delight for meeting with the students and said whatever the size of foreign assistance given to the Hurricane Katrina stricken areas, the reconstruction task depends in the first degree on the population of these areas who had lived and worked in these areas and returned to them after the hurricane.

HH the Emir of the State of Qatar offered congratulations to the Xavier University officials for their efforts for the reconstruction of the said university.

Before the luncheon party, HH the Emir met with two students who have got the Qatari scholarship. The two students conveyed their thanks and appreciation to HH the Emir and the State of Qatar for such a scholarship.

DELIA HABHAB

"We Are All Witnesses," a new book produced by the Qatar Katrina Fund, serves as a first hand account of the rebuilding of the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

In the wake of the hurricane, which hit the north-central Gulf coast in August of 2005, the State of Qatar was among the first countries to commit financial support to the victims of the storm. Almost immediately after the damage was assessed, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar, pledged $100 million toward the rebuilding of New Orleans, Mississippi, and other areas destroyed by the hurricane. One month later, in September of 2005, the Qatar Katrina Fund was formed.

The Fund provides direct assistance to the victims of the storm in the form of student scholarships, health care, and the construction of homes and community centers, among other things. "We Are All Witnesses" includes a detailed report of gifts given, along with a complete list and description of the organizations and programs that received contributions. Several universities, medical centers, and non-profit organizations were included on the list, as well as housing projects like Habitat for Humanity.

The book also details the travels of a delegation led by Nasser Bin Hamad AlKhalifa, Ambassador of the State of Qatar, who serves as chairman of the Fund. The delegation visited areas that were in the process of being rebuilt, and toured potential grant sites.

Several pages of the book are filled with first-person accounts of life after the storm, along with pictures of homes being rebuilt, children re-entering schools, and community centers being constructed.

The book was distributed at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination (ADC) Michigan's 9th Annual Martin Luther King Scholarship Awards Reception last Friday. The guests at the night's event were among the first to get a glimpse of the new book.

ADC Michigan Regional Director, Imad Hamad, commended Qatar on its generous contributions both locally and nationally. He said that their pledge to help rebuild the areas damaged by the hurricane speaks to their generosity as a nation.

"We commend the State of Qatar for reaching out from across the world to lend a hand to the areas devastated by the hurricane," he stated. "Through their contributions, they are helping to rebuild an area that has been hit by one of the worst storms in U.S. history. The country's generous efforts are evident on a local level as well, through their kind support of ADC's landmark American-Arab Center for Civil and Human Rights," currently under construction in Dearborn.

Also included in the book are letters to the State of Qatar from several elected officials, including New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and former U.S. Secretary of State, James Baker, who serves on the Fund Advisory Committee. The book also features letters written to Ambassador Al-Khalifa from victims of the storm, who expressed great appreciation to Qatar for assisting them in their time of need.

For more information on the Qatar Katrina Fund, or to view the book "We Are All Witnesses," please visit www.qatarkatrinafund.org