Kuwait's humanitarian aid is being distributed.

KUWAIT: Living up to its status as International Humanitarian Center, Kuwait continued offering assistance to needy people in the Middle East and beyond throughout the just-ended week. On Sunday April 16, Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) distributed 3,500 food parcels to displaced Iraqis in several parts of Mosul city as part of 'Kuwait is by Your Side' campaign.

The humanitarian aid was distributed in coordination with the local Al-Barzani Charity, said Mohammad Bahaa-Eddine, who is in charge of supply distribution at the Kurdish charitable association. He noted that most recipients, who were internally displaced and have returned from camps, are in dire need of relief aid.

KRCS had recently distributed more than 1,500 food parcels in Mosul.  On April 17, Al-Salam Humanitarian and Charity Society started an emergency aid campaign for needy people in Yemen and Syria. The campaign, according to the society's director general Nabil Hamad Al-Oun, includes a series of relief projects.

Oun pointed out that so far, 13 truckloads have been collected, and half of them for the Yemeni people while the other half will be for the Syrian people.  The society previously sent six aid convoys to the Syrians on the border with Turkey, and one convoy to Yemenis.

On Wednesday April 19, the Kuwaiti Consulate General in Irbil offered 1,500 vouchers to displaced Iraqis in the city of Sulaymaniyah in cooperation with the Ronahee Foundation. The goal of such type of aid is to fulfill the food needs of the displaced Iraqis, offering them the chance to shop for themselves, Kuwait's Consulate General in Irbil Dr Omar Al-Kandari said. So far, up to 10,000 vouchers have been distributed on the displaced Iraqis in Irbil and Sulaymaniya, Kandari added. The senior diplomat noted that his country would carry on with all types of aid as part of a relief plan for the displaced, covering all areas of the Kurdistan Region.

Turkey

Meanwhile, the State of Kuwait has opened three prosthetics' centers in the Turkish cities of Istanbul, Sanliurfa and Hatay to aid Syrian refugees who lost limbs or other organs in the ongoing war in their homeland. Ibrahim Ahmad Al-Saleh, General Director of Al-Zakat (Alms) House, said the Kuwait Medical Center for Prosthesis was opened in the three cities as a result of generosity of Kuwaiti citizens who contributed with financial allocations to relieve the Syrians refugees of some of their hardships.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, designated by the UN as the Humanitarian Leader, and the Kuwaiti Government, support all projects aimed at serving those in need. Ghassan Al-Zawawi, Kuwait Ambassador to Turkey, praised in a statement during inauguration of the center the efforts that have been put to ensure such a vital humanitarian accomplishment.

Bulent Yildirim, the head of the Turkish IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, expressed appreciation for granting such vital aid to the refugees. "Such noble and eternal stances by the Kuwaiti people, charities and architect and leader of humanitarian action in the world, His Highness the Amir, will go down in history with bright letters," Yildirim said. The centers will secure 1,000 prostheses in two years as of beginning operations.

Egypt

In Egypt, the Kuwaiti Office for Charitable Projects in Cairo, an affiliate of the Zakat House, offered financial donations to the Children's Cancer Hospital (57357).  Head of the office Ismail Abdullah Al-Kandari toured some wards in the hospital, where he was briefed on the various services provided to children suffering from cancer. He also met some children receiving treatment there. Kandari expressed pleasure for the visit saying that he was proud of the services offered to the children afflicted with the disease from Egypt as well as the Arab world free of charge.

Deputy director of the hospital Dr Tareq Mansour expressed gratitude to the Kuwaiti people for their support to "57357" since the project started till now.  He thanked the Kuwaiti Office for Charitable Projects and the Zakat House for their backing, which reflected the deep-rooted ties between peoples in the two countries.

Food bank

Also on the same day, the Kuwaiti Food Bank Society inaugurated "the clothing bank" project catering for 5,700 short-income families in Kuwait. Meshaal Al-Ansari, the association deputy chairman, said the humanitarian activity was co-organized with Saveco company, indicating that it includes charitable coupons and training courses for the poor. Each coupon, worth KD 25, is given to a family with limited resources.

Responding to the Yemeni crisis, the Health Committee of the Kuwaiti Society for Relief (KSR) handed over 15 tons of cancer treatment drugs to the central pharmaceuticals storehouses in the city of Aden. The drugs are part of the KSR's program to support the health services sector in the Yemeni city, the committee said in a statement.

On Thursday April 20, the 'Kuwait is by Your Side' campaign delivered the Jaar-Al-Hisn power grid hookup and the second phase of the Abyan water station to the municipal authorities in Greater Aden. Secretary-General of the Municipal Council of Aden Mahdi Al-Hamed expressed gratitude to the Kuwaiti government and people for their firm support to the Yemeni people and distinguished contributions to the development projects in various fields.

In a ceremony held to mark the delivery of the two projects, he appreciated the great efforts being made by 'Kuwait is by Your Side' campaign to aid the Yemeni people in such areas as famine relief, housing, energy, potable water, education and healthcare.  The power grid hookup is four kilometers long with a capacity of 33 kilovolt, according to a press release by the campaign.

The water station project aims to rehabilitate eight water wells in the first stage and nine wells in the second stage. On Friday April 21, the Kuwaiti Al-Najat Society sponsored 1,300 Syrian and Jordanian orphans in various Jordanian governorates. The aid project is co-organized with the Jordanian Benevolent Society, which supervises Al-Najat society's projects in Jordan. - KUNA