Center for Syrian orphan girls opens in south Turkey

By Cem Genco

HATAY, Turkey (AA) - A Turkish aid group in collaboration with Indonesian and Qatari charity foundations opened a new center for 18 Syrian orphan girls in southern Hatay province’s Reyhanli district on Thursday.

The villa -- sponsored by Indonesia Human Initiative Foundation (PKPU) -- was built on a 100-acre piece of land in Reyhanli.

Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) and Qatar’s Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services as well as Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policy cooperated in the building of the "life center" for children.

PKPU President Agung Notowiguno and IHH Vice President Huseyin Oruc attended the opening ceremony of the center; children present there were given gifts, including clothes.

Turkey hosts more than 3.2 million Syrians, more than any other country in the world.

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

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, according to UN figures.