GAZIANTEP (Turkiye), June 27 (Bernama) — The success story of Palestinian children who attended As-Solah and Siti Khadijah schools in Deir Balah in the central Gaza Strip has inspired Humanitarian Care Malaysia Bhd (MyCARE) and Econsave Cash and Carry Supermarket to build schools for Syrian refugee children as well.
Johor MyCARE trustee Dr Mohd Zin Kandar said the two schools, which were built through a strategic partnership of both entities, have been operating for five years and currently have over 2,000 students.
Some of their former students have even pursued their studies at a higher level and returned to contribute to other Palestinian children, he added.
“Both schools are national schools owned by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that focuses on orphans there and these children excel in academics and in memorising the Quran. One of them has become a doctor and in the evening, he will be teaching children at the school to memorise the Quran, so we want to do the same in Syria.
“For us, the educational aspect needs to be given attention as this is a long-term measure to ensure that these (Syrian) refugee children will learn basic skills like reading, counting and writing. Education will enable them to improve themselves as well as their families and rebuild their country which has been damaged by war since 2011,” he said upon arriving in the city today for a humanitarian mission to Syria from Saturday until July 6.
Mohd Zin, who is leading the mission, is joined by nine others including Econsave general manager Mas Imran Adam, three Johor MyCARE volunteers and five media practitioners from Bernama, TV AlHijrah, Utusan Malaysia and Harian Metro.
Elaborating, he said more than 4.5 million refugees and internally displaced persons are reported to be in refugee camps in Jarabulus, Azaz and Al Bab (in Syria) and in southern Turkiye.
“Following several initiatives by the Turkiye government, the refugees, who were previously in this country, have been sent to the three areas in Syria. However, the areas are not their hometown so they need help. Many NGOs including from Malaysia are trying to meet the needs of these refugees such as shelters, food items and most importantly, education,” he explained.
The group is on a mission to build a school in the Azaz area, located about 80 kilometres from Gaziantep, at a cost of RM1 million.
Apart from that, a total of RM500,000 is also allocated to provide hot meals, school equipment, wheelchairs and other necessities to refugee camps that will be visited.
Meanwhile, Mas Imran said the supermarket has been a strategic partner of MyCARE since 2011 through seven humanitarian missions to several countries as well as various corporate social responsibility projects.
“Since 2011, we have managed to raise about RM9 million from charity sales and donation boxes placed in 88 stores nationwide. The education of these children is indeed our priority and this time, we will build a school in Azaz, Syria which is expected to accommodate 1,000 students.
“We chose MyCARE because of their transparency (in implementing humanitarian projects and missions),” said Mas Imran, who followed all seven missions to Lebanon, Syria, and Palu and Lombok, Indonesia.
Apart from public funds, Econsave had also spent over RM100,000 for all the missions, he added.
The humanitarian mission group is expected to enter Syria via Gaziantep tomorrow and visit refugee camps in Jarabulus, Azaz and Al Bab, after obtaining permission from the Turkiye government as the areas are under their control.
Those who are interested in donating to this humanitarian fund can do so at Econsave stores or contact Johor MyCARE Johor operations manager Saadon Sulaiman at 018-9677215.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency