Bahrain’s RHF backs housing recovery in Damascus with $2m grant

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Manama: The Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF) has entered into a new partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to fund the rehabilitation of damaged housing for families returning to their communities in Syria, under a grant valued at USD 2 million.

The project will focus on neighbourhoods in Al Zarbah district in the Aleppo countryside and the city of Harasta in Rural Damascus, where large numbers of homes were affected by years of conflict.

Speaking at the signing, RHF Acting Secretary-General Ibrahim Dalhan Al Dosari said the agreement is a central part of the Foundation’s humanitarian work beyond Bahrain, aimed at helping crisis-affected communities rebuild their lives by restoring safe housing and raising the living standards of the most vulnerable families. He stressed that providing dignified shelter is a priority in RHF’s efforts to support long-term social and living stability for people returning to their areas of origin.

The agreement was signed with UNHCR’s Representative in Syria, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, in the presence of Ambassador Waheed Mubarak Sayyar, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Damascus and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Syrian Arab Republic.

Under the programme, UNHCR plans to rehabilitate around 470 damaged homes, supporting nearly 3,600 individuals. The initiative will give priority to households facing heightened vulnerability, including families headed by women and people living with disabilities.

Works will cover essential structural repairs to walls, roofs and foundations, alongside the installation of solar lighting systems to assist households affected by unreliable electricity. The project will also restore key water networks and facilities and provide solar-powered water heaters to improve access to clean water and basic sanitation.

On the margins of the signing, an RHF delegation carried out site visits to several homes identified for rehabilitation to assess conditions on the ground and determine urgent needs. The delegation also visited the headquarters of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to strengthen coordination in humanitarian operations, and held discussions with Syria’s Minister of Public Works and Housing, Mustafa Abdulrazzaq, on potential cooperation in reconstruction and housing recovery initiatives.