By Redha Sardar
KILIS, Turkey, April 22 (KUNA) -- Chairman of the International Islamic Charitable Organizations (IICO) Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq on Saturday cut the ribbon of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Village for Hosting Syrian refugees in southern town of Kilis.
In his inaugural statement, Dr. Al-Maatouq expressed gratitude to Turkey for hosting Syrian refugees, congratulated the nation on the recent constitutional referendum before touching on the issue of the village, including 1,248 housing units, a mosque, a school, a nursery and a social services center.
The latest humanitarian initiative is in line with instructions by His Highness the Amir to intensify efforts for relieving the refugees. This project is fruit of coordinated efforts by Kuwaiti and Turkish charities, he said, thanking the national institutions that contributed to the humanitarian activity, namely the Kuwait Banking Association, the popular committee for collecting donations, Kuwait Al-Zakat House, Al-Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Ministry, the Kuwaiti Relief Society, Zain, Ooredoo and Viva telecommunication companies.
He also expressed gratitude "to the unknown soldiers, whose efforts resulted in making this project a reality, securing home for more than 6,000 persons from our Syrian brothers." Bulent Yildirim, the head of the Turkish HH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, expressed gratitude to His Highness the Amir, the UN-designated Humanitarian Leader.
On sidelines of the ceremony, attended by a large number of Kuwaiti and Turkish officials, Al-Maatouq signed with Yildirim an agreement to launch eight projects for the Syrian refugees.
Kilis Governor Ismail Catakli, during a meeting with Al-Maatouq and the accompanying Kuwaiti officials, lauded the State of Kuwait for being the sole that has taken such an initiatives, establishing the makeshift town for the refugees in southern Turkey. (end) rs.rk