Turkish Red Crescent, UNICEF sign aid project for Syrian children

Turkish Red Crescent and UNICEF signed the aid project of "Increasing Resilience of Syrian Children Under Temporary Protection in Turkey" on Wednesday. Representative of UNICEF Turkey Ayman A. Abulaban, Chairman of Turkish Red Crescent Ahmet Lutfi Akar, Chairman of Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) Fatih Ozer and the ambassador of the European Union to Turkey Jean-Maurice Ripert were among the attendants. Abulaban said the project aimed to provide quality and inclusive education opportunities to all children and youth, including children with disabilities in the opening speech of the signing ceremony. "Syrian children are paying for the ongoing conflict with their schooling, their well-being and their lives. And for those who had to flee to neighboring countries, such as Turkey, their future is uncertain. Children make up over half of the refugee camps and host communities and their seeking for protection in Turkey is growing. UNICEF, with Turkish Red Crescent, is implementing a new initiative through the European Union Instrument for stability aimed at increasing the resilience of Syrian children living in camps in Turkey. We are happy and glad to have Turkish Red Crescent" said Abulaban. "The total financing of the project is over €5 million"- Abulaban said there were key activities of the project and added: "Capacity building of 30 recreational facilitators and youth workers to support children's activities and training of 840 youth volunteers to initiate and manage activities for 10 thousand children in camps are the key activities of the project." Stating that the total financing of the project was over €5 million, Abulaban said "The project is also funded by the EU. EU has funded over €4 million." Chairman of Turkish Red Crescent Ahmet Lutfi Akar said they were hosting 200 thousand Syrian people in Turkey. "We are trying to host our guests in the best conditions. In this process, we need the support of benevolence across the world. With this cooperation, we will continue to support more systematically," said Akar. The Ambassador of the European Union to Turkey Jean-Maurice Ripert said as EU they worry about the escalating crisis in Syria. Ripert said "We support the open policies of neighboring countries. Until today, 3 million people have been affected by the Syrian crisis and EU's monetary aid has reached €700 million."