Japanese volunteers help Syrian refugees through Kimse Yok Mu

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu collaborated with the Tokyo Camii and Turkish Cultural Center to help transport $77,000 worth of humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees residing in the southern city of Adana near the Syrian border.

Journalists representing the Kyodo News agency from Japan distributed the humanitarian aid, which included clothing, towels and blankets. Aki Yasou Kankılıç, a Japanese correspondent based in İstanbul, was one of the volunteers. She told the Zaman daily that the Japanese contribution to Syrian victims in Adana is a sign of gratitude to Turks who provided humanitarian help after the Fukushima earthquake occurred in Japan in April 2011. “It is very beautiful to see the happiness of Syrian refugees who received help through the Tokyo Camii and Turkish Cultural Center and Kimse Yok Mu.”

Emin Çalhanoğlu, a coordinator from Kimse Yok Mu, said that the organization has been helping Syrian refugees for the last three years. “Local organizations from Japan wanted to reciprocate aid after Turks helped following the Fukushima earthquake by reaching out to Tokyo Camii and Turkish Cultural Center. We accepted their contribution gratefully,” Çalhanoğlu said. He added that Kimse Yok Mu has helped over 100,000 Syrian refugees and contributed TL 57 million worth of financial aid to better their conditions.

The charity organization reaches out to different regions of the world affected by catastrophes and is recognized by the Republic of Turkey as an association that works for the public interest. Kimse Yok Mu was the first such organization from Turkey to send aid to the Philippines, which was struggling to recover after being hit by Typhoon Haiyan on Nov. 8, 2013. Reaching the area with military helicopters, a team of 10 people from Kimse Yok Mu began search and rescue activities and distributed 25 tons of food packages to 6,500 victims in cooperation with Philippine officials.

Published on Today's Zaman, 10 March 2014, Monday