Turkish doctor runs for Yemen in Manchester

Eymen Kaya, a Turkish doctor living in the United Kingdom, will join the October 18 Manchester Half-Marathon for a noble cause: helping children in war-torn Yemen.

The doctor's charity run is for Islamic Helping Hands (IHH U.K.) and he aims to collect at least 5,000 pounds sterling ($6,150). In his online crowdfunding plea, Kaya said that four years of civil war has shattered Yemen and led to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. "Some 24 million people or 80% of Yemen's population are in need of humanitarian aid and according to the United Nations, and 14 million people (half the population) face imminent famine," Kaya says.

Children are in particular affected by the crisis and Kaya said there are 360,000 children under the age of five who are malnourished and in need of immediate aid. A cholera outbreak due to lack of clean water and sanitation is also taking a heavy toll on the population. IHH U.K. is among the charities delivering aid to Yemen, from food to clean water while the charity also strives to help the orphans with shelter, food aid and the delivery of educational equipment.

Kaya's charity campaign also accepts monthly donations of zakah and sadaqah (Islamic charitable donations). With collected donations, the charity will purchase milk powder, diapers, medicine and other basic needs for Yemeni children and deliver them to the camps where displaced Yemenis live.