A CHARITY which started in Denton has clocked up 10 years of supporting people affected by war – helping 10 million people.
Syria Relief has reached eight figures in the number of citizens it has reached after being established in 2011 initially in response to the crisis in the Middle Eastern country.
Now its work is carried out in nearby Yemen, Lebanon and Jordan and more than two million were backed in 2020 alone.
That includes work done in 306 schools and 10 static and four mobile healthcare facilities, while it provided access to clean water for 329,780 people, food to 64,006, medical care for 292,706 and education to 105,507 children.
However, despite reaching the landmark after setting up at Market Street in Denton before moving to their current base in Salford, they insist their work does not stop there.
Othman Moqbel, chief executive of Action For Humanity, the parent non-governmental organisation (NGO) of Syria Relief said: “It is a great achievement for any charity to not just have lasted 10 years, but to have grown exponentially in this period and become the world-leading NGO for providing humanitarian aid in Syria.
“But an even greater achievement is that we are doing what were set up to do better than anyone and Syria Relief has helped over 10 million people. To put that in perspective, the current population of Syria is estimated to be around 17 million.
“We were set up 10 years ago by a group of Syrian friends in the UK who saw the crisis in Syria escalate into a war and the humanitarian needs spiralling – we originally provided tents and non-perishable food to people who had fled their homes.
“Now we are building new towns for displaced people, we operate 14 hospitals and healthcare facilities and 306 schools, making us the largest non-governmental provider of education inside Syria.
“We all want to thank all of the supporters, partners, staff and volunteers who have got us through some very tough periods over the past 10 years and hope we can welcome more in the future.
“However, in truth, we hope we do not need to exist for a day longer, that we can close tomorrow and that the people of Syria find a sustainable and just peace and the poverty rate, which is currently at 90 per cent, disappears.
“But until that day comes when we are no longer needed, we will continue to do all we can to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people, which is currently at its worst point in the 10-year conflict.”