In honor of the International Day of Disabled Persons, a Turkish aid agency organized goalball tournaments for visually impaired people in northwestern Syria on Tuesday.
The Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) organized the matches in Idlib and Azaz provinces, which were liberated from terrorists during Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield, through a center called Hope House in Azaz.
The center, which provides training on various subjects such as computer and literacy for sight-impaired people, "continues to be a hope for the disabled people," Yakup Alaca, a press officer of İHH's Kilis branch, said in a written statement.
"We think that visually impaired people are not alone and they can be successful if they are trained," Yasir Kaddur, a teacher at Hope House, also said in the statement.
"They should not feel as if they have been forgotten. We've achieved furthering communicate with these brothers through this tournament. Being disabled is not an obstacle for us," Kaddur added.
After the tournament, gifts were presented to athletes of both teams.
The International Day of Disabled Persons, which was proclaimed by a U.N. General Assembly resolution in 1992, "aims to promote the rights and well-beings of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life," according to the U.N.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched three counterterrorism operations in northern Syria: Operation Euphrates Shield, Operation Olive Branch and Operation Peace Spring. Through the operations, Turkey managed to clear the area of terrorist elements and ensure the security of the locals.
Following the operations, the country has been involved in rebuilding the region's infrastructure, as well as health and educational institutions. Several Turkish humanitarian agencies are also working to return life to normal in the region.
