Turkish foundation helps 7,500 Syrian families

By Meryem Goktas

ANKARA (AA) - A foundation linked to Turkey's top religious body said Friday it had distributed aid to 7,500 Syrian families in a week.

The distribution by Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDV), connected to the Religious Affairs Directorate, was made in Syria's Idlib region and other areas liberated during Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield which ended last March.

According to a statement by the foundation, aid including food was distributed to families living in refugee camps, who had fled regime attacks from Hama and other regions.

The foundation also provides clothing to needy families through its charity stores in five different locations in Syria.

Apart from this, it distributes 220,000 pieces of bread and provides hot meals to 150,000 people every day, the statement added.

Additionally the statement said that the foundation which prioritizes orphans, disabled, and families of martyrs in its Syria projects, distributed humanitarian aid to families of disabled civilians.

The foundation also distributed donations in the form of potatoes from Turkey’s central Nevsehir province and apples from central Kayseri province to 4,500 families living in camps located in Syria's Azaz region.

Since the start of the Syrian war, the foundation has sent aid worth 195 million Turkish liras ($51.52 million), the statement said.

The foundation provides humanitarian aid in the form of food and clothing, tents, water wells, school constructions, stationery assistance, promotion of university training activities, rehabilitation center, reconstruction of demolished mosques and maintenance and repair services, training of religious officials and development projects.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.