Gokhan Kavak
20 May 2019•Update: 21 May 2019
ANKARA
Turkish aid agencies on Monday distributed Ramadan aid to those in need around the world.
The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) distributed food packages to 5,000 families in Afrin, northwestern Syria.
"We will continue our distribution to people in need. We will be in Afrin and Hatay this Ramadan,” said Ali Koc, chairman of the foundation's Belgium office.
The IHH also arranged an Iftar, or fast-breaking dinner at an orphanage in Haripur district in northwestern Pakistan.
"Today over 800 orphans participated in our Iftar dinner and we will provide Iftar to 3,000 people in Pakistan during this holy month of Ramadan," Mucahit Kilic, an IHH official in Pakistan, told Anadolu Agency.
The charity group also organized an iftar program in Kosovo's capital of Pristina, marking World Orphans Day.
At the same time, IHH sponsors 300 orphans in Pristina, said Osman Atalay of the group’s board of trustees.
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in Ghana distributed food packages in the capital Accra.
“We believe that this will strengthen our friendship with Ghana,” said Turkey’s Accra ambassador Ozlem Ergun Ulueren.
The Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDV) of Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), also distributed food packages to people in need in Cape Town, South Africa.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, TDV representative Fuat Buyukkaymaz said they have reached more than 1,000 families in nine different regions in two days.
Turkish Red Crescent in Indonesia hosted an iftar dinner for 500 people.
The agency will distribute 6,000 food packages and host iftar for 2,000 people in different regions of Indonesia, said Ibrahim Altan, Turkish Red Crescent chairman.
In northern Iraq, Turkish Red Crescent distributed food packages and blankets to 150 families in need.
In Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, Turkish Red Crescent distributed food packages to 303 families.
Turkish Red Crescent distributed 500 food packages to families in need in Tirana, the capital of Albania.
The agency also held iftar on Monday for orphans in Tirana.
Within the Ramadan aid campaign, the agency started distributing 6,000 food packages in Senegal's capital of Dakar, as well as surrounding areas.
Marking World Orphans Day, the Turkish Red Crescent organized an iftar program for 250 orphans and their families in Skopje, the capital of Northern Macedonia.
While the agency aims to hand over 1,500 food parcels to needy people in different cities of Northern Macedonia during the month of Ramadan, it also plans to continue organizing iftar programs around the country.
Turkish Red Crescent also arranged an iftar program for 500 people in Serbia's Novi Pazar, which is heavily populated with Bosnians.
The agency also organized iftar program for 350 orphans and their families in the northeastern Tuzla city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Istanbul-based Federation of Humanitarian Associations (IDDEF) also held iftar dinners and distributed food packages to people in Gaza.
* Writing by Busra Nur Bilgic and Jeyhun Aliyev; Contribution by Islamuddin Sajid from Islamabad
