Blankets, food and water supplied to thousands who have fled their homes as winter sets in.

Since Friday (December 16), more than 10,300 people have fled eastern Aleppo to rural areas outside the city and to neighboring Idlib, 37 miles (60km) away.

And in the last three days alone Islamic Relief’s team in Syria has reached 3,500 people, distributing blankets, mattresses and plastic sheets as well as food, water bottles and wheat flour to make bread.

We continue to prioritize our response for those fleeing Aleppo and our team is now assessing needs in other areas and monitoring the situation as it develops.

UN figures show nearly half a million people across Syria have fled their homes since the start of the year, not including the latest displacement of people from Aleppo.

As the spotlight is focused on Aleppo, waves of displacements are continuing in other parts of the country, leaving families in urgent need as temperatures drop and winter draws in.

In a 17-day period up to mid-December nearly 40,000 people in eastern Aleppo had already left their homes and thousands are still waiting to leave.

Now, 700 people are fleeing the two besieged towns of Foah and Kefraya in neighbouring Idlib province.

A key feature of Islamic Relief’s response in Syria is the funding of sustainable projects including education, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, which will support displaced people to live dignified lives.

 

Please donate to support our work in Syria here.

For media interviews and access to Islamic Relief’s photography and video footage from Syria please contact international media coordinator Mohammad Shakir on +442075933237 or +447747022590 or email Mohammad.Shakir@irworldwide.org

 

A man drops to his knees displaying the peace sign with both hands after fleeing Aleppo by bus

Widows in rural Kosova are being supported to set up their own sewing businesses.

Islamic Relief is reaching out to the most disadvantaged group of widows in Kosova, supplying sewing machines and tailoring training.

In the rural areas of Drenas and Pristina unemployment is one of the biggest issues facing communities, and for women raising families alone the situation is particularly challenging.

After rolling out training for 32 widows, Islamic Relief has employed seven women at a mini clothes factory, supplying sewing machines to 10 more, allowing them to work from home.

After Aferdita (pictured right) lost her husband she was unable to find work and struggled to support her family.

She said: “I never thought I would find a job in my life, or have the skills to go out and earn my own money.

“I was very eager to learn new skills but my life took me in other directions and I never got the chance, so this was great for me.

“I have a high attention to detail and learning how to produce different types of clothing required a lot of devotion and care.

“As head of the household – and also a mother – I feel empowered.”

Future proposals include adding a shop to the factory where the women will be able to sell their goods.

Find out more about our work in Kosova here.

Islamic Relief’s Syria team is poised to support thousands of people fleeing the city.

Our team in Syria is preparing a distribution plan to ensure that emergency aid items stocked in our warehouses outside Aleppo are delivered where people need them most.

Up to 100,000 residents are expected to leave the city in the coming days and travel to safer areas in northern, western and southern Aleppo, as well as to the city of Idlib.

“Thousands of lives have been lost and the people of Aleppo have suffered terribly through many months of siege conditions, bombardments and fierce fighting,” says our Head of Mission for Syria, Mohamed Goumni.
“Our prayer is that the evacuation will be completed as straightforwardly and peacefully as possible, and our Syrian staff and volunteers are working hard to provide displaced people with food and medical aid.”

For months our team on the ground in the area surrounding Aleppo have been helping to distribute fresh bread to families driven from their homes.

Now we are stepping up this operation to support larger numbers of displaced and evacuated people, assessing the needs of new arrivals in order to support them with immediate distributions of cooked meals, baby milk and hygiene kits.

Islamic Relief’s emergency response for those fleeing Aleppo also includes providing medicines to health centres and stocking local bakeries with wheat flour for fresh bread.

And as winter is drawing in, our teams are preparing to help families who have left their homes behind by providing seasonal support including heaters with fuel, clothes and boots, and nutritious meals.

Our Syria team is coordinating with Syrian organisations in the area to ensure emergency aid is delivered in the most effective way possible.

Islamic Relief has been working in Syria since 2011 and has assisted more than 6.5 million Syrians – most of them inside the country but also hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled to Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.

We continue to lobby the international community to halt the conflict, and call for essential humanitarian corridors.

Please donate to support our work in Syria here.

For media interviews please contact international media coordinator Mohammad Shakir on +442075933237 or +447747022590 or email Mohammad.Shakir@irworldwide.org

Increased tensions on the Pakistani-Indian border have caused 11,000 families to flee.

Over the last two days Islamic Relief has delivered 300 food packs to feed 1,500 people who have fled their homes in the Upper Neelum Valley.

It’s believed thousands of families living along the border line have left their homes behind and moved towards nearby towns.

Some are staying with family members, while others are seeking shelter in government-allocated buildings.

Sakina, a widow and mother-of-five (pictured right), is taking shelter in a mosque with her children after their home was destroyed by shelling.

She said: “I am really worried about the safety of my family.

“We have moved from our home to a nearby mosque where we hope we will be safe if there is another intense attack.

“As I have no income, I have always needed the help of friends and family for our survival.

“But with the current situation our circumstances have worsened and now I am reaching out to neighbours and relatives for just the basic daily meals for me and my family.”

According to the State Disaster Management Authority, Sakina’s is among 10,917 families to have been displaced in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

So far, 38 people have been reported dead, with more than 110 injured, including women and children.

Displaced people are in need of urgent food and clothes, and if the situation deteriorates they may also need shelter.

Islamic Relief is focusing on women and children in Neelum, Kotli, Bhimber and other areas, who are particularly vulnerable as winter draws in.

PRESS RELEASE, December 2 2016

• Launch event for 200-bed hospital in Johannesburg on December 2
• Islamic Relief has funded oncology unit to the tune of $7.7 m/110m ZAR
• Waseem Ahmad, International Programmes Director, speaks at launch
• Representatives of Islamic Relief South Africa, Worldwide, USA and UK all present and available for interview

 

Islamic Relief is one of three major donors to the new Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital to speak at the launch event for the hospital in the Parktown area of Johannesburg on Friday, December 2.

Our speaker is Waseem Ahmad, International Programmes Director for Islamic Relief Worldwide, who has played a pivotal role in coordinating global support for the project from Islamic Relief partner offices around the world.

This collective effort has delivered a donation of $7.7 million from the Islamic Relief family to fund the hospital’s oncology unit – including $2.5m from Islamic Relief UK and $1.75m from Islamic Relief USA, the two biggest single country donors.

“This hospital has been 11 years in the making and it’s been great for me to see it taking shape,” says Waseem Ahmad. “Islamic Relief is proud to have funded the oncology unit, providing a lifeline for children with cancer when the African continent has so few specialist facilities.

“We’re also privileged to be associated with such a state-of-the-art facility whose services are so badly needed, and to be part of such a fitting tribute to Nelson Mandela.

“As the anniversary of his death approaches on December 5, what better way to celebrate his life and all that he stood for than to launch the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital – a beacon of hope for the children of South Africa for decades to come.

“Islamic Relief’s large donation to this important project would not have been possible without the big-hearted generosity of Muslim communities around the world.

“The ethos of the hospital reflects the ethos of Islamic Relief itself – we help vulnerable people where the need is greatest, regardless of race or religion.”

As well as the oncology unit funded by Islamic Relief, the new 200-bed hospital has centres of excellence in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery; haemotology; nephrology; pulmonology; craniofacial surgery; neurosciences; and general paediatric surgery. The first young patients are expected through its doors for dialysis and radiology treatments in the New Year.

Islamic Relief has committed $7.7m (110m ZAR) to solely support the hospital’s oncology unit. It is a facility that will set the standard for modern child-centred healthcare facilities. Its features include a bone marrow transplant facilities and laboratory; intensive care and high-care beds; a dedicated pharmacy; and a radiology facility.

According to recent figures from the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation, one in 600 children in South Africa is affected by cancer before the age of 16. Yet more than 40 per cent of South African children with cancer never receive specialist treatment. There are only four specialist children’s hospitals on the entire African continent, compared to about 20 in the UK. The Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital (NMCH) will help change these grim statistics.

 

For more information or to arrange interviews with representatives of Islamic Relief in Johannesburg for the launch, or to obtain photographs or footage from the Islamic Relief team at the event, please contact Martin Cottingham on 00-44-7702-940982 (martin.cottingham@islamic-relief.org.uk).

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Islamic Relief is an international aid and development charity that aims to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest people in over 30 countries, mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. As well as responding to disasters and emergencies, Islamic Relief promotes sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities – regardless of race, religion or gender. With a global headquarters in the UK, it has offices in over 40 countries and has assisted over 110 million people in its 32-year history. Its biggest current operation is its Syrian crisis response: it has delivered over $190 million worth of aid to over 6.5 million Syrians inside Syria and in neighbouring countries since the conflict began. For more information see islamic-relief.org
• Islamic Relief South Africa is an important member of the Islamic Relief global family, both in terms of the funds it raises and the programmes it implements – such as orphan sponsorship, clean water projects and community development initiatives. For more information see http://www.islamic-relief.org.za/what-we-do/
• Available for interview at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital launch: Waseem Ahmad (International Programmes Director) and Martin Cottingham (Director of Communications) – Islamic Relief Worldwide; Anwar Khan (CEO) – Islamic Relief USA; Tufail Hussain (Deputy Director) – Islamic Relief UK; Norman Moyo (Head of Programmes) – Islamic Relief South Africa.