IHH carries on aid effort in Dadaab

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The IHH is continuing helping the Somali people, who are fighting drought. The IHH aid teams are helping local people survive by materializing permanent projects and are providing emergency relief at Dadaab camp which is housing thousands of refugees. In addition to distributing food to 3000 families daily, the teams are performing health screenings and digging water wells. The IHH teams also volunteered to distribute relief supplies of the UN to refugees at the camp on the Kenya-Somali border.

IHH carries on aid effort in Dadaab

Somali people continue to head for borders to escape starvation and water shortages that are caused by ongoing drought. The Somalis who make it to Dadaab camp in Kenya after walking hundreds of miles live on aid distributions of aid agencies. A member of the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation team delivering daily relief supplies at the camp noted they were still people coming to the camp from interior regions and stressed that aid shipments should continue.

The number of Somalis seeking help in Dadaab camp to escape famine in Somalia is rising, the IHH Emergency Aid Coordinator Recep Güzel said. “People continue to move to border areas. They are fleeing famine. Although statements put the number of refugees at Dadaab at 500,000 people, the real number is said to be at least 700,000. Because each day thousands more are arriving here.”

Güzel added “People in the camp are in dire need of assistance. It is true that the epicenter of the famine is Somalia, but an equally big humanitarian crisis is unfolding here. People fleeing Somalia are arriving here. We reach out to 15,000 people daily and give them enough foodstuffs to suffice for between 20 and 25 days. Moreover, we are cooperating with the Association of International Doctors such as providing infrastructure for setting up health clinics.”

We are carrying out relief works considering requests and needs of the Somali people in the camp, Güzel stated and added Somalis wanted to continue their education despite drought and famine. “We are providing opportunities to help Somali children continue their education. We have a project called Duksi. With this project Somali children will be able to resume their training in Quranic instruction at the camp. We have offered 20 trainings so far.”

As the IHH is continuing works to realize permanent projects in the region, it is also offering iftar meals to 3000 people every day in Ramadan in 10 different locations. Meanwhile, the IHH has also started sacrificial slaughters of 1060 head of small cattle donated to the foundation.

IHH VOLUNTEERED TO DISTRIBUTE UN SUPPLIES

The aid workers of the IHH, one of the most influential aid agencies at Dadaab, met with local UN officials. The IHH teams told the UN officials they could voluntarily distribute relief supplies at UN storage facilities.

IHH coordinator Güzel highlighted the significance of flow of aid and concluded as “We are reaching out to around 15,000 persons in a day. We are also assisting other civil society organizations. We explain our projects and help them with aid distributions. More global aid agencies need to come here and offer systematic aid. We feel the absence of aid agencies, because we are having difficulties reaching all the people that are in need of help here. People are too enfeebled to consume food we provide. The need for aid efforts is in place. Aid should continue to flow.”

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Children await death in Somali

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Drought which affects East Africa severely continues to paralyze daily life in Kenya, Somali, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Uganda. The situation is heartbreaking particularly in Somali. People living in southern parts of the country have a close brush with death. Some families who dare to take all the risks migrate to the capital city of Mogadishu by walking a distance of 500 kilometers. At least one person from each family dies during this journey. Drought, hunger and heat affect children most as usual. And epidemics break out in the region. Children await death in Somali.

IHH emergency aid

IHH emergency aid

Teams from the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation which went to Kenya in the wake of the problems in the region have moved to Somali. IHH emergency aid teams first visited the camps in Mogadishu to figure out what could be done in the medium and long term and they launched relief efforts in the region immediately. IHH Emergency Aid Coordinator Recep Güzel who coordinates relief efforts in Somali after Kenya said what he has witnessed in the camps is the preliminary signs of bigger disasters. Having joined many emergency relief efforts in many parts of the world, Güzel said he has never faced with such a tragedy.

Most deplorable scene I’ve ever seen in my life

Children await death in Somali

Children await death in Somali

Visiting the camps and a women’s-children’s hospital in Mogadishu, Güzel explained: “Following relief efforts in Kenya, we have come to Mogadishu to launch relief efforts here. I can describe the situation here as the end of the humanity. I have joined in emergency relief efforts in many troubled regions of the world but I have never seen such a picture. Since no aid is dispatched to the south of the country out of security concerns, people living there migrate to Mogadishu. There is 500-kilometer of distance for them to cover. People who were already exhausted by drought and hunger walk for kilometers under these circumstances.”

At least one from each family dies

Güzel said people who leave their houses to migrate to Mogadishu experience big problems during their journey to the capital city. “Some people lose their lives on their way to Mogadishu. At least one from each family dies during this challenging journey. Contrary to the situation in Kenya, there are smaller camps here. Around 150-200 families live in each camp,” he said.

It is so sad to wait for the death of a child

Stressing that it is the children again who are most affected by drought and hunger, Güzel shared his impressions from his visit to a women’s and children’s hospital as follows: “People who are able to make it to Mogadishu collapse from exhaustion. Their situation deteriorates due to inadequate nutrition. Let alone walking, women and children cannot even take one step. It is so sad to say this but children are like skeletons. The face of a child was not seen due to the small flies that covered his face in a hospital where we made examinations. He was receiving serum treatment but he was unable to keep his eyes stable. I have never felt myself so desperate throughout my life. A child was slowly dying in front of my eyes but I was able to do nothing to save him.”

Epidemics begin to spread

Güzel also said infectious diseases have begun to rapidly spread in the camps. “Life for the people who were struggling with poverty has gotten more difficult when the drought crisis emerged. There are no adequate supplies in the camps. Diseases rapidly spread. It is very tragic but people are waiting for their death in the camps. Eight children lost their lives within several hours during our visit to a camp where only 100 families live. Since there is no authority in the country, there are not any official figures about what is taking place. It is not exactly known how many people are living in the camps or how many people have lost their lives. There are just estimations about the possible figures.

IHH took relief to 45,000 people

The IHH has delivered food supplies to 45,000 people in the camps in Somali, said Güzel, adding that the amount of food delivered by the IHH will be sufficient during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. He also added that the IHH will continue its relief efforts in the region.

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Thousands suffer at Ethiopian border

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There is an ongoing desperation in Somalia and Ethiopia, the poorest countries of the world in Horn of Africa, which suffers from its worst drought in 60 years. The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has delivered food aid to the Somali region in northeastern Ethiopia where 4, 5 million people live.

Thousands suffer at Ethiopian border

Thousands suffer at Ethiopian border

IHH teams that reached the camp in Artsek region on the Somali border which is 70 kilometers away from the capital city of Jijiga, delivered  food aid which included 300 tons of corn, 2 tons of vegetable oil and 3 tons of dates to 3,000 Somali people.

Around 1.2 million people live in makeshift shelters in Artsek on the Somali border. Osman Atalay, a member of the IHH Executive Board, said he has witnessed people living in the area which they call “camp” but actually lack the basic infrastructural means for 11 years. Atalay said these people who even do not have access to fundamental needs such as water and toilet, have been fighting against diseases and deaths for years.

Atalay also explained that the people who left their homes due to drought 11 years ago and came to the Ethiopian border have not returned back to their homes. “When we came to this region in 2000 when there was a severe drought again, we brought aid to those people but when we came here 11 years later again, we have seen that nothing has changed and they continue to live under difficult circumstances,” said Atalay.

“Today, nearly all the people who migrated to Ethiopia from Somali and Kenya will never return back to their homes,” said Atalay, adding that the people in the region are suffering from a variety of diseases due to malnutrition such as swollen abdomens, hair and skin diseases, cataracts, malaria, diarrhea and tuberculosis.

The IHH official also explained that emergency aid dispatched to the region does not bring a long-term solution as he added: “We need to look for ways to prevent drought and poverty in the region. We need to invest on projects for digging ponds and we need to open water wellsa and develop animal catering, or else, we can never heal the wounds of these people.”

Atalay reiterated that aid campaigns launched by non-governmental organizations should turn into permanent projects, announcing that the IHH has completed the construction of six water wells and one pond and launched the construction of two water wells in the region.

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Drought turns into a humanitarian crisis in Somali

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People in Somali are striving to survive in the midst of a heavy drought which paralyzes the daily life in the country severely. Many people in the country who had to leave their homes due to severe drought and moved to other places are suffering from hunger, which is one of the worst humanitarian crises.

Drought turns into a humanitarian crisis in Somali

Drought turns into a humanitarian crisis in Somali

The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has called on the entire world through the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and ZamZam Foundation, which is its partner in the region, to extend a helping hand to the country.

There is a now an influx of refugees to capital Mogadishu, where most of the houses are demolished, from other parts of Somali due to the years-long domestic turmoil in the country. The government of Somali announces that 1,500 new people come to the city every day but the government lacks the means to provide support for them. While some refugee groups take shelter in the ruins of the state buildings, some residents of the city invite the refugees to their homes. Various aid organizations and the OIC have called for emergency aid to the region considering the fact the region has been hit by the most severe drought of the past 60 years.

Thousands of animals have perished and there is almost no clean water left in the country due to the drought. The people who fled their homes due to the drought go to the border regions and 380,000 people strive to live in Dadaab Refugee Camp at the Ethiopian-Kenyan border. The camp is insufficient to accommodate the Somali refugees and provide food for them. In addition to this, most of the refugees in the camp are ill and in need of treatment.

The IHH, which carries out permanent projects in Somali, has delivered food to 7,000  drought-stricken people living in three different regions of the country. IHH’s partner in the region, the ZamZam Foundation joined the delivery of the food which included 10 tons of rice, 6,5 tons of sugar, 2,880 kilograms of vegetable oil for 1007 families.

Somali came under the world’s spotlight with the hunger crisis in the country in the 1980s. There are growing concerns that the ongoing drought in the country will turn into famine if immediate action is not taken. The IHH speeds up relief efforts in the region and plans to take emergency aid to the country at Ramadan.

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IHH sends 3000 tons of humanitarian aid to Somali

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IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation is sending a ship carrying 3,000 tons of emergency humanitarian aid supplies to Somali which has recently been hit by a severe drought.

28.07.2011 - IHH sends 3000 tons of humanitarian aid to Somali

28.07.2011 - IHH sends 3000 tons of humanitarian aid to Somali

Drought which has been ravaging East Africa has turned into a great humanitarian tragedy in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Uganda. African people who leave their towns and migrate to cities on the border in search of water and food face death risk. The IHH has been carrying out relief efforts in Horn of Africa since the drought crisis first hit in May.

In Horn of Africa where temperatures rise as high as 50 degrees centigrade, there are places which have received no rain over the past three years. IHH and other humanitarian aid organizations in the region have already warned that drought will turn into a big disaster if measures are not taken immediately and called on the world to extend a helping hand to the region.

Taking urgent action for aid due to the deteriorating situation in East Africa, the IHH is preparing a humanitarian aid ship to send to the region thanks to donations from charity givers. The ship will be carrying food, medicine and medical supplies for drought-stricken people.

3000 tons of aid for Africa

The IHH has launched a big relief campaign following the drought and consecutive deaths in East Africa. Now, the foundation is preparing to send a ship carrying 3,000 tons of aid which include wheat, corn, flour, vegetable oil, sugar, milk powder, biscuits, rice and pasta in addition medicine and medical supplies which are urgently needed.

Aid relief for 45,000 people

IHH emergency aid teams which describe the situation in the drought-stricken regions as the “end of the humanity,” deliver food supplies in the camps in Somali and Kenya. Distributing food to 45,000 people in the camps in Somali, IHH teams pay special attention to the children and old people who are sick. IHH is also beginning relief efforts in Ethiopia, which is another crisis region.

IHH mobilized to aid drought victims

IHH calls on everyone to give support to this aid campaign on these days when we are about to begin to observe the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

At this Ramadan, you can also extend a helping hand to our brothers and sisters in Somali who face death risk due to drought and hunger.

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Ship of humanity sets sail for Somalia

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The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation is preparing to send a ship carrying 3,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Somalia which has been suffering from a severe drought for months.

06.08.2011 - Ship of humanity sets sail for Somalia

06.08.2011 - Ship of humanity sets sail for Somalia

The Turkish nation does not remain indifferent to the hunger tragedy which takes place in East Africa in the 21st century. Since the beginning of the drought in the region which has been receiving no rain for about three years, the IHH has taken the donations of the Turkish nation to the crisis-stricken people. Now, the foundation is readying to send a humanitarian aid ship to Somalia on Aug. 15.

Somalia where hundreds of children lose their lives every day is about to lose its fight against hunger. The situation in the region deteriorates each and every day. Since the beginning of the drought crisis, the IHH has taken relief to more than 100,000 people. Now the foundation is making preparations for the aid ship which will be one of the largest aid to be received by the Somali people at Ramadan. The Somali people are waiting for the arrival of the ship to their country.

Life ring to the Horn of Africa

The IHH has launched a project to intervene in the hunger crisis in the region which becomes worse every passing day. The foundation which announced to send a humanitarian aid ship to Somalia at the beginning of Ramadan is beginning to load the aid supplies to the ship on Wednesday. The ship is expected to set sail for Somalia on Aug. 15.

Turkey will send its donations via this ship

While humanitarian aid collected through aid campaigns launched in various parts of the world is dispatched to the region, deaths of children due to hunger or diseases caused by drought cannot still be stopped. According to information from the IHH teams working in the region, aid supplies sent to the region are not sufficient to make Somali people to stand their own two feet and there is need for more aid. As the IHH, we will not remain indifferent to the tragedy in Somalia and take the 3,000 tons of aid, donated by the Turkish nation, to Africa.

Campaign for 3,000 tons of aid 

The IHH has called on the Turkish nation to act to help the drought victims in Somalia at the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Aid supplies to be sent to Somalia include wheat, corn, flour, vegetable oil, sugar, milk powder, biscuits, rice and pasta in addition medicine and medical supplies. The aid ship which will set out for Somalia thanks to donations from our charity givers will make the Somali people take a sigh of relief.

Donators can claim tax deduction for their donations

Businesses and enterprises can claim tax deduction if they make their donations to the IHH as part of the food banking system. Invoices to be given to you by the IHH for your donations will be sufficient for you to claim tax deduction. Charity givers can also claim tax deduction for their donations for Somalia as the IHH is a tax-exempt organization.

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Aid drive for Somalia

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In the poorest African country Somalia, which is experiencing the worst drought in 60 years, people are struggling with hunger, drought and diseases. The only hope of the drought-stricken Somali people is humanitarian aid to be extended by Muslims around the world during the month of Ramadan. Thousands of people who arrived in camps in Kenya after days of walking in the scorching sun are helplessly waiting for a helping hand.

04.08.2011 - Aid drive for Somalia

04.08.2011 - Aid drive for Somalia

The Somali people, who have already been suffering from the devastating impact of the civil war for the last two decades, are now at the threat of a humanitarian crisis caused by drought. Somalis are leaving the south of the country for the capital Mogadishu and Kenya to escape starvation. The number of infant deaths is on the rise, but the hope of survival is also rising with the start of Ramadan.

SAVE SOMALI CHILDREN

Children are worst affected by the driest season in Somalia in 60 years. It is reported that several children in every family develop various diseases because of malnourishment and die consequently. People in southern Somalia where famine has been declared are hitting roads to find food. Some families leave their children behind at their villages for fear of losing them during the long journey that is made on foot and lose contact with the villages. And some of those who travel as a family lose their children on the way to camps. Almost every Somali family has such a tragic story.

MUSLIMS CAN SAVE SOMALIA IN RAMADAN

The people of Somalia, where the majority of population is Muslim, have been going through serious hardships for decades because of exploitation by Western powers and internal unrest. The only hope for the Somali people who are accustomed to live with pain is the fact that the Muslim world has mobilized to help fellow Somali people at a time when hunger and thirst combined with scorching temperatures have become unbearable.

IHH ANNOUNCES DONATION DRIVE

In Ramadan, a time when fraternal ties are strengthened, the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation urged all the people in Turkey to mobilize for Somalia, knowing they will not remain indifferent to the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in the Horn of Africa. The foundation sent to the region emergency aid teams as soon as the impact of drought became visible and is preparing to dispatch 3000 tons of relief supplies to the region via sea. The vessel will sail for Somalia in mid-Ramadan.

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