Kuwait contributed $343 million in response to Syrian crisis

KUWAIT: Dr Hanan Hamdan, Head of the UNCHR office in Kuwait (left) and Sulaiman Al-Tarrah, Co- Founder and CEO of Bleems attend a press conference in Kuwait yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in collaboration with Bleems, a platform for flower, confectionary and sweets in the GCC, launched an advocacy campaign highlighting the concerns of women in refugee camps on the occasion of Mother's Day. "We are happy to support this campaign in support of many refugee women around the world," said Dr Hanan Hamdan, Head of the UNCHR office in Kuwait. She said the need to highlight concerns of female refugees is necessary so that people understand the conditions of women in such sorry circumstances.

"Mothers are the prime reasons why many children are surviving harsh conditions such as war. Displacement is a terrible situation for many families in war-torn areas in the MENA region, not to mention Syria and camps in neighboring countries. Women are taking a bigger role, so we should be grateful for all their sacrifices," she noted.

"Bleems is here to support us in the awareness campaign to shed light on these issues and raise people's awareness on the plight of individuals in their struggles and the severe humanitarian situations they are facing, especially refugees and internally displaced people in the region," Hamdan said.

According to Hamdan, the UNCHR office in Kuwait has initiated several collaborative projects with key government counterparts, as His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Sabah has been globally recognized as a humanitarian leader. "Kuwait provided through UNCHR a generous contribution of $343 million in response to the Syrian crisis," she said. Hamdan added that with the partnership with Bleems, they will be able to highlight a new perspective that is full of innovative entrepreneurial elements as the world celebrates Women's Day on March 8 and Mother's Day on March 21.

"Our collaborative effort is only on the awareness side - we are happy that as the largest supplier of flowers and confectionaries in the Middle East, we have a responsibility to share some of our expertise. The way to thank our customers is to give back - it is part of our social responsibility. We are committed to CSR and the way to pay forward is to make this program possible through UNCHR," said Sulaiman Y Al-Tarrah, Co-Founder and CEO of Bleems. "The celebration of Mother's Day is the least that we can do to recognize and appreciate mothers for their tremendous role in this crisis we see in Syria. We cannot just 'wait and see' without sharing anything. We need to care and act so they can be assured that there are people around that care," he added.

By Ben Garcia