On a mission to help Syrian refugees

Manama : Following an eye-opening visit to refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey, a Bahraini is now heading a campaign to help Syrian refugees get back on their feet. 

Hasher Ahmed is heading a campaign by  to encourage Bahrain residents to further help Syrian refugees. The organisation is supporting five charity organisations in Turkey and Jordan that help refugees start a new life. 

Explaining about the campaign to DT News, he said, “I visited community centres in Jordan which were helping the refugees become self sufficient. These centres were providing education to the Syrians, especially women and children.” 

“As most of the women there do not have skills to hold jobs, they are married off. But marriage is not the complete solution for them. What we want to do is to help these women become self sufficient so they can earn a living. We want to ensure a bright future for the children,” he said, adding that
most of the women there are widows.

The projects that AlMa3oon supports include Maharaat Sewing Project (Jordan), Hands on Hope (Jordan), Small Projects Istanbul (Turkey) and Drop Earrings Not Bombs (Turkey). 

“They are legitimate organisations which support the refugees by providing means of income. For example ‘Drop Earrings Not Bombs’ sells earrings handcrafted by refugees,” he said. 

AlMa3oon is an awareness campaign and does not organise fundraisers to support the cause, affirmed Hasher.

“We do not collect money since we are still in the initial stages. Anyone interested in donating can contact us and we guide them through the right channels. So the major way we support these organisations is by marketing. We also have volunteer programmes where volunteers travel to Turkey and Jordan to teach the Syrians there,” he said.