Treatment offered to 910 Syrians refugees - KRCS began two-week campaign in Eastern Ghouta

KUWAIT: Living up to its UN-bestowed status as an International Humanitarian Center, Kuwait scaled up its response to the humanitarian emergencies in Syria and other parts of the world throughout the last week. On Sunday, February 25, Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) delivered food aid to residents of Eastern Ghouta, to the east of the Syrian capital city of Damascus, in cooperation with Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). The aid campaign is to continue for 15 days to provide food for some 126,700 Syrians trapped in the war-torn city.

In Amman, the Kuwaiti voluntary team 'Shefaa' offered medical care to 660 Syrian patients. The team also performed eight successful surgeries, one for a two-year-old boy, and the other for a senile. The team was on a trip to Jordan as part of programs to provide medical and psychological assistance to afflicted people.

This 15th trip, which concluded on Wednesday, coincided with Kuwait's National Days and witnessed a "new humanitarian achievement," namely offering treatment to 910 Syrians in the Kingdom, among them many children, women and old people. The trip covered the camps of Al-Zaatari and Al-Azraq close to the Syrian borders as well as other areas randomly occupied by the Syrian refugees. The team performed eight surgeries in one of Amman hospitals, besides donating $15,000 and medications to support some clinics. Moreover, it offered financial assistance to 450 refugee families with chronic-disease patients.

On Monday, Kuwait also delivered urgent aid to besieged civilians in Eastern Ghouta on Damascus' outskirts. The aid delivery started amid bombardment that proceeded a day after the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day truce in Syria. The vanguard Kuwaiti initiative will encourage international relief organizations to follow suit and implement the UNSC Resoluti91

401. It is basically designed to secure delivery of humanitarian supplies to the needy in Syria along with halting fighting for 30 days.

Despite news indicating that the warring parties have not muzzled the guns and the super power have not worked out a mechanism on ceasing the fire, the State of Kuwait on Sunday decided to proceed with distributing relief supplies to the besieged civilians in Eastern Ghouta for 15 days.

On Tuesday, KRCS launched a fundraising campaign for Syrians trapped in Eastern Ghouta after recent incidents in the area. The campaign comes in solidarity with Syrians in the region who are experiencing hard conditions. The society's cadres and volunteers have been mobilized to secure success for the aid drive.

KRCS continued on Wednesday delivering food parcels to besieged Syrians in Eastern Ghouta. The ongoing Kuwaiti relief operation, carried out in coordination with the Turkish Relief Association, will be expanded to secure other necessities such as medical aid for the civilians in the besieged area.

The humanitarian supplies have been secured with donations from Kuwaiti citizens and non-Kuwaitis living in the country, who have been generously contributing the society efforts to relieve the stricken Syrians. Donors, citizens and expatriates, can deliver their contributions during day and night times at the KRCS headquarters and via its website.

In Beirut, KRCS continued its relief effort for the Syrian refugees who fled from the conflict in their country into Lebanon and other neighboring countries. The majority of the nearly one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon are in extreme poverty and depend primarily on the humanitarian aid as their crisis entered its seventh year, said Dr Musaed Al-Enzi, a KRCS official, citing reports of the UN aid agencies.

KRCS launched a new stage of the kidney center for treatment of the Syrian refugees suffering from renal failure. The project is funded by the fundraising campaign dubbed as Balsam, jointly launched by KRCS and Kuwait Airways. It is also supported by 'the bread project.'

Iraq

In Baghdad, Secretary General of the Iraqi Cabinet Mahdi Al-Alaq inaugurated ten Kuwaiti-funded schools in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Ahmad Al-Heity, chair of the United Iraqi Medical Society (UIMS) said the six of the schools were built in the right side of the city, while the other four in the left side. Each school has a capacity of 640 students.

The schools are fully furnished and equipped with air condition systems and power generators as well as all necessary requirements, he added. The Iraqi government announced earlier that the fund provided by the State of Kuwait exceeded all funds of other Arab countries. It lauded Kuwait's finance to the construction of a number of schools and medical centers across Iraq.

Yemen

In Riyadh, officials from Kuwait and Aden signed an agreement to transport water from Abyan to Aden to address the water supply problem in the Yemeni port city. The agreement, signed by Kuwait By Your Side Campaign and Public Authority for Water and Local Rule in Aden, aimed at fixing the water pipeline which transports water from Al-Ro'a well, in Abyan governorate, to Aden via the province of Lahj. The 58-kilometer-long pipeline is designed to transport 13,000-15,000 cubic meters of water every day.

The campaign is designed to improve infrastructure and services through many projects, including the water project which link Abyan with Aden. The project, part of many Kuwait-funded ventures nationwide, would end water crisis which was caused by the hostilities, that destroyed pipelines and water wells.

Meanwhile, a delegation from Kuwait Relief Society, chaired by Jamal Al-Nouri, chair of the executive committee of the society, arrived in Aden to follow up first-hand implementation of Kuwaiti projects in Yemen. This visit aims at getting acquainted with projects executed by "Kuwait by Your Side" campaign and examine the humanitarian situations in many Yemeni governorates.

On Wednesday, the Kuwait by Your Side" campaign inaugurated Kuwait training center in Aden, the temporary capital of Yemen. The campaign handed over a drinking water project in Al-Buraqiyah district in Aden worth $600,000 that will benefit about 40,000 people.

Tanzania

In Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian Vice President Samia Hassan heaped praise on Kuwait for its contributions to humanitarian causes She said during a fundraising campaign organized by Kuwait embassy, the aid was allocated for disabled people and others who desperately need it. Kuwait's ambassador to Tanzania Jassim Najem revealed that his country is financing a $500,000 aid program for the disabled, particularly, people suffering from Albinism.

Serbia

On Thursday, Kuwait Ambassador to Serbia and non-resident ambassador to Montenegro Youssef Ahmad Abdulsamad handed over a check for KD 140,000 (EUR 380,000) to head of the Islamic Sheikhdom of Serbia Dr Mevlud Efendi Dudic. The funds, donated by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, will be channeled to the construction of a science and technology institute in Novi Pazar town, located in the Raska District, southwest Serbia.

After receiving the check at Kuwait Embassy in Belgrade, Dr Dudic expressed gratitude to Kuwait for the donation saying it will benefit students in the town, males and females. Ambassador Abdulsamad also handed a check for KD 28,000 (EUR 76,000) from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs to President of the Islamic Sheikhdom of Montenegro Omer Halil Kajshaj. The funds will be used in financing the rehabilitation of the 20 mosques in Montenegro. - KUNA