The UAE Red Crescent delegation in the Syrian province of Latakia announced on Thursday the launch of a series of new initiatives to continue providing assistance to support various sectors in the province.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), UAE delegation head Mohammed Al Kaabi emphasized that foreign humanitarian aid is a fundamental and moral commitment for the UAE. He stated that the mission of “Fares Al-Shahem 2” in Syria is evidence of the UAE’s quick response and standing alongside the Syrian people.
Among these initiatives, Al Kaabi highlighted “My Identity, My School,” which aims to support the Syrian education sector by renovating and maintaining 40 schools in Latakia province. Another initiative, “Education Knights,” aims to provide laptops and desktop computers to support digital transformation.
In addition to these initiatives, training supplies are being provided for vocational colleges in fields such as engineering, medicine, and pharmacy. There are also initiatives like the “Eid Clothing” project, which targets 44,000 beneficiaries, and the “Sacrifices” initiative, where 2,000 sacrifices will be distributed to 100,000 beneficiaries in Latakia, Aleppo, Homs, and Hama provinces.
Taysir Habib, the President of the Latakia Governorate Council in Syria, expressed gratitude for the ongoing UAE assistance, emphasizing that it will continue until Syria recovers and becomes even better than before. He specifically acknowledged the UAE Red Crescent’s support across various sectors in Latakia province.
It should be noted that two months after the devastating earthquake that hit northwestern Syria and Turkey, Latakia Governorate, in cooperation with the UAE Red Crescent, launched a project to build prefabricated temporary housing units for those affected by the earthquake in the Graf neighborhood of Latakia city.
According to a correspondent from Sputnik news agency in Latakia, the residential units project covers an area of 33 acres and is part of seven other sites included in the project, which includes 1,000 residential units, with each unit covering an area of 42 square meters. The total area of the project is 100 acres.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.7 on the Richter scale, struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, February 6th. Its aftershocks were felt in other countries in the region.
The World Health Organization estimated that the destructive earthquake in Turkey and Syria affected nearly 23 million people.
The earthquake caused extensive damage to thousands of buildings, including schools, healthcare facilities, and other public infrastructure in both countries.
The Syrian government announced last Sunday that the number of casualties reached 1,414 dead and 2,349 injured in the areas under government control that were affected by the earthquake.
