DOHA: Qatar Charity’s (QC) team is distributing emergency aid to Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, following a wave of snowstorms and loss of life and property in the region.
Around 20,000 people are expected to benefit from the aid over the next few days.
The delegation of volunteers, is headed by Sheikh Shaqr Shahwani and Abdul Aziz Al Mohannadi.
Distributions took place at various points along the Jordanian-Syrian border, in the provinces of Zaatari and Mafraq, with a focus on Um Alqotain and Al Dafianeh areas, where thousands benefited from children’s and winter clothing, shoes, hats, blankets, meat and other food items.
“The delegation responded to a distress call from the field to all benefactors to save the lives of their Syrian brothers,” Shahwani said, adding thousands of Syrians are living in the open or in lightweight tents that offer little protection from the low temperatures, which in some areas have fallen below zero and forecasters warning against the worst snowstorms in 80 years this weekend.
He appealed to philanthropists and benefactors to rescue their Syrian brothers and sisters needing shelter, food, medicine and clothing and said QC is collecting donations through its ‘Before the Freeze’ campaign.
At the beginning of this year, QC announced the allocation of QR36.5m for aid for the Syrian people. The announcement was made in conjunction with the announcement of QR2m in emergency aid for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and on the Turkish-Syrian border to help them face the Al Huda snowstorm that hit the Levant at the end of last week. This allocation is expected to benefit over 73,000 people.
QC has spent QR187m on aid until 2014-end, benefitting 4,033,000 Syrians. About 57 percent of the projects were for Syrians in the country and included food, shelter, health and sponsorships. Half of these projects were inside Syria to support the increasing number of displaced people, and the humanitarian organisations which faced difficulty in accessing them. The remaining 43 percent supported Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, particularly Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey.The Peninsula
