Qatar Charity provides free bread for IDPs in northern Syria
Qatar Charity (QC), as part of its relief aid, has said it continues to provide free bread to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Syria by supporting and operating bakery ovens, aiming to ease the burden of living on the IDP community during the holy month of Ramadan.
As many as 16 automatic ovens were operated through co-ordination between QC, the International Organisation for Migration and civil society organisations.
The ovens provide free bread daily to more than 190,000 people (37,000 families) from the IDP community, who live in nearly 60 camps, in addition to those living in abandoned homes and makeshift shelters.
Providing free bread to this number of beneficiaries, Qatar Charity contributes to meeting 12% of the daily need of bread for IDPs in northern Syria, with a production capacity of 42 tonnes of flour per day for a period of six months.
The beneficiaries expressed delight at receiving free bread that contributes to alleviating their suffering and help them fast during the holy month of Ramadan, QC said in a statement.
“I was displaced two years ago, and live in the Rahma camp on the Idlib countryside. I have always found it difficult to secure bread for the family on a daily basis, due to the lack of job opportunities and a stable source of income, especially in light of the continued coronavirus pandemic,” said Abdul Aziz Zahir, an IDP.
“I now receive two bundles of bread for free on a daily basis, which is sufficient to meet my family’s needs. This lessened a great burden on me. I hope this project would continue to contribute to alleviating my suffering and that of those living in the camp, especially in this holy month.”
Mohamed al-Omar, also an IDP living in the Rahma camp, thanked the benevolent people in Qatar for their support. “I had been suffering for more than two years while securing bread, and there was a great burden on me as a family head,” he said, hoping that QC would continue providing free bread for them.
Qatar Charity is studying the establishment of a new oven in Azaz, a city in northwest Syria, with a production capacity of 2.5 tonnes of flour, equivalent to approximately 3,000 bread packages per day, for the benefit of nearly 2,800 families.
QC is working to secure the bread needs of Syrian refugees in southern Turkey, where the Urfa bakery, which was established and operated in 2017, continues to operate for the third year in a row without interruption, with a production capacity of 8,000 bread packages per day. More than 4,500 families of orphans, widows and the most vulnerable groups of Syrian refugees benefit from it in Urfa province.