DOHA: An ongoing campaign to encourage and support Qatari youth to get married has generated good response, with a total of 119 youth having already registered in the first phase.

The campaign titled Ifaf was launched by the Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani Foundation for Humanitarian Services (Raf) jointly with Al Sharq daily. Ifaf has raised QR50m from companies and individuals as donations to cover the expenses for the marriage in the first phase of the project. Each applicant will get assistance worth QR200,000 in kind and another QR50,000 in cash.

The campaign that targets 1,000 Qatari youth aims to support people who remain unmarried for financial reasons. Besides financial support, the couples will also get advice and counseling on how to lead a successful married life. Raf Chairman and general manager Ayed Al Qahtani said they had plans to set up a permanent fund and independent bodies to ensure the continuity of the project.

“This is a major initiative to promote marriages and reduce divorce rate through proper education and counseling given to the couples,” said Al Qahtani.

The training will focus on the social, psychological, religious and legal aspects of marriage and how to build a stable family life. The couples will be enlightened about the benefits of pre-marital tests and how to develop strong relations with the partner beginning from the first day.

“ We ill also educate the parents on how to deal with the newly-married youth, without interfering too much in their personal life. The couples will get advise and counseling from our team even after marriage,” said Al Qahtani.

Yahya Al Nuaimi, director of the social service section at Raf said all formalities of the marriage will be completed in strict confidentially without affecting the social status of the applicants. “The wedding ceremony will be conducted in the normal way so that no one will realize the special nature of the marriage. We have been getting good support from all circles including airlines, restaurants, hotels, textile shops and even tailors making the special wedding clothes,” said Al Nuaimi.

The procedures for getting assistance are very simple and people need not have to shy away from applying fearing long and complicated formalities, he added.