The Kuwaiti fundraising campaign for the quake-struck people in Turkiye and Syria has yielded KD 20.7 million (USD 67.7 million) by Saturday/Sunday midnight. At the behest of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah, “Kuwait by Your Side” campaign was launched by Minister of Social and Community Development Affairs and Minister of State for Women and Childhood Affairs Mai Al-Baghli on Saturday midday. It was co-organized by the ministries of social affairs, foreign affairs and information, and covered live by Kuwait TV. Nearly 129,000 philanthropists, individuals, companies and charities, contributed to the campaign, which signaled the solidarity of the Kuwaiti leadership and people with the brotherly peoples of Syria and Turkiye in the face of the impacts of the disaster.

Meanwhile, Al-Salam Society for Humanitarian and Charitable Works announced Sunday the allocation of over KD 350,000 from its annual campaign “Kuwait Trucks” for those impacted by the earthquake in Syria and Turkiye. Speaking to KUNA, Society’s Public Relations Director Dhari Al-Baijan said during the relief work in Turkiye, the total donations for the campaign exceeded KD 1.3 million, with 357 trucks, of which over KD 350,000 have been allocated so far for earthquake-struck people. The charity continues to urgently send aid to the stricken areas in Syria and Turkiye since the disaster occurred, and an additional relief plane is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, Monday, loaded with 1,000 tents for those affected, in cooperation and coordination with the official authorities in Kuwait, Al-Baijan added. He pointed to the charity’s efforts in its annual campaign in order to target the largest possible segment, especially considering the humanitarian conditions there, at a time when the society harnessed all its capabilities to contain the current crisis, in addition to its charitable activities directed at Syrian refugees in the camps.

The charity’s presence since the first moments of the disaster in the Turkish city of Antakya enabled it to sense the tragic situation and measure the extent of the need for aid by the residents of the affected areas, he stated. The urgent relief supplies consist of foodstuffs, clothes, blankets, heating devices, medical tools, tents and other necessities for a decent life, Al-Baijan said. Al-Salam Charity launched its annual campaign for the benefit of the displaced from Syria and Yemen on December 23 last year, and it was scheduled to end on Saturday, but the closing event was cancelled and the request for an extension from the authorities in Kuwait was cancelled due to the current situation in Syria and Turkiye.

The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) continued on Saturday to offer urgent relief aid to those affected by the devastating earthquake that hit northern Syria last Monday. KRCS members made it their duty to reach those most affected by the disaster as part of Kuwait overall relief aid campaign. The “Kuwait by your side” relief aid campaign had collected so far over KD 13 million (around USD 42.62 million), which would be geared towards the victims of the earthquake that hit southern Turkiye and northern Syria.

Head of the disaster management division of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) Yousef Al-Muraj confirmed that KRCS’s aid supplies have reached the areas affected by the recent earthquake in Turkiye. During an interview with KTV on Saturday, Al-Murraj mentioned that on the sidelines of the campaigning efforts to reach out to the families in need of necessary relief equipment, including medical and first aid kits, to be provided as needed at this time. KRCS efforts are directed by His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah and National Assembly to support those affected by this natural disaster in a timely manner. (KUNA)

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