(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani Al Thani, Chairman of Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF), and Bulent Yildirim, President of Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), have opened RAF-IHH City for Human Development that will house 990 orphans of Syrian refugees in Turkish city of Al Raihaniya. Spread over an area of about 100,000 sqm at a cost of more than QR71m, this project is the biggest city for orphaned refugees in the world.
'This is a unique project which was a dream of thousands of orphans, said Sheikh Dr Khalid Al Thani. 'The project was implemented by RAF in collaboration with IHH. The strong relations between Turkey and Qatar have played key role in the implementation of this project, he added.
'The cooperation of RAF and IHH will lead to implementation of more such humanitarian projects especially those related to support orphans and other needy Syrian people, said Al Thani.
The city has 55 villas 35 for boys and 20 for girls aged between six to 15 years. Each villa measuring 350 sqm has two storey buildings that can house 18 children.
The city also has a mosque, three schools, a rehabilitation center, clinics, play grounds, a cultural center, a gymnasium, workshops, agricultural farms, picnic places and zoo.
'The Syrian orphans will be provided a complete care in new city, said Bulent Yildirim addressing to the inaugural ceremony.
'The war not only kills children and their parents but it also disturbs culture therefore it is responsibility of humanitarian organizations to protect the culture of the country suffering from war. The orphan city aims to create an atmosphere of Syrian culture to these children that will help to secure their cultural identity, said Yildirim.
Yildirim appreciated RAF and its Chairman, Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani Al Thani for their support in building the orphan city.
'The project 'RAF-IHH City for Human Development' aims to prepare a generation who could build their country and serve the humanity, said Dr Ayed bin Dabssan Al Qahtani, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and General Director of RAF Foundation in his inaugural speech.
'They will be armed with necessary knowledge, science, skills, and experiences. The beneficiary children will be raised on the culture of peace, away from war and destruction, Al Qahtani said, adding: 'We care for children specially those who have lost one of their parents or both. We gave top priorities to them by implementing several programs and projects for them.
He said: 'With the support of philanthropists of Qatar, RAF has been implementing projects for orphans in 27 countries. A total of 6,044 children are on the personal sponsors under RAF. RAF has implemented 17 projects worth QR91m in building model towns and residential complexes to accommodate 14,066 children.
'City of RAF-IHH for Human Development is part of humanitarian projects launched by RAF in all over the world, said Al Qahtani.
'Qatar Fund for Development is working in coordination with its local and international partners to reduce suffering of Syrian people caused by war, said Khalifa bin Jassim Al Kuwari, General Manager of Qatar Fund for Development.
'The charity organizations in Qatar are playing key role in the implementing the visions of our leadership in humanitarian sector. The opening of orphan city is an example of the support of Qatar's charity sector in response to the international humanitarian call, said Al Kuwari.
'Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) intended to implement an educational project 'Al Ghad (Tomorrow) for Syrian refugees in Turkey,' said ROTA Executive Director Essa Al Manna announced.
The project aims at creating educational opportunities for the children. They will be provided with modern educational tools to increase their performance. Syrian teachers will be trained so that they can handle the children in this tough situation.
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