Turkish volunteers put smiles on orphans’ faces in Syria

By Seda Sevencan

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - Combing, cutting, and braiding, Turkish volunteers have been cheering up nearly 3,500 girls -- mostly orphans -- in war-torn Syria, doing their hair under a humanitarian project for several years.

The Human Movie Team, a social media movement in cooperation with humanitarian groups, has been carrying out the project named "Braids for hair and brotherhood for hearts" in different parts of Syria since 2018.

Thanks to the project, the children, many of whom have never had anyone to comb their hair, are reminded of what it is to be a child and cared for.

Almost 2,000 girls living in refugee camps in northern Azaz were first included of the project in 2018-2019, with cooperation from the Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) and the For Children group.

In cooperation with two humanitarian, volunteers brought smiles to the lips of nearly 300 more girls living in refugee camps in the northern Jarabulus district in 2020 by braiding their hair

A total of 22 Turkish volunteers cleaned and braided the hair of 1,000 orphan girls living in northern Idlib province this year, too.

Volunteers from different parts of Türkiye participated in a two-day event that ended on Friday with the support of the Orphan Foundation.

After their hair was braided and adorned with colorful pins, the girls were given gifts such as clothes, stationery, and toys.

- 'Love and care is humanitarian aid'

"By displaying their before and after photos, we're trying to tell the world how good these children feel, how beautiful they look, and how their hopes swell when they get cared for with this project," said project coordinator Tulay Gokcimen.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency after the project, Gokcimen said her organization got feedback that the self-confidence and academic success of the children in the project had increased, with people encouraging the group to continue their efforts.

"Since we've conducted this project mostly for orphan children, the love and care they receive is really uplifting for them," she said.

"People may ask why we go and do their hair instead of providing food and clothing in a war zone -- that is, instead of more basic needs. They may think that way, but love is the most basic need of a child, care is the most basic need of a child. Children of war need this love, care, and attention, too. We think love and care is humanitarian aid and humanitarian support for them," said Gokcimen.

"We want to continue this project, especially for refugee camps in different parts of the world," she said.

According to the Orphan Foundation's latest report, the number of orphans in Syria continues to rise as the civil war drags on for over a decade, with the latest data showing that of 9 million children in the country, more than 1 million are parentless.​​​​​​​

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

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.