Ever hospitable to people fleeing regional conflicts, Turkey mobilized to extend a helping hand to Syrian Kurds who fled from their homes in the city of Kobani, Syria where attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) have continued for weeks.
Along with efforts from state agencies to accommodate nearly 150,000 Kurdish refugees from Syria, nongovernmental organizations (NGO) are also conducting various aid campaigns.
The Sister Family campaign is one of the campaigns where NGOs connect families from the city of Kobani with Turkish families who have volunteered to host them in their houses until they find accommodation. Turkish families also help them find accommodation in Turkey and pay the rent. Volunteer families also pay for basic needs of Syrian Kurdish families or deliver them humanitarian aid and pay for their children's education expenses.
Turkish NGOs have flocked to the Turkish-Syrian border after September's violent clashes between Kurdish forces and ISIS militants forced thousands to flee into Turkey from northern Syria. The Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH), Mazlum-Der and other prominent Turkish charities are supplying humanitarian aid to Syrian Kurds concentrated in Suruç, a Turkish town located on the border.
The number of displaced Syrians in Turkey is nearing 1.5 million. Refugees are staying in 24 tent camps in several Turkish cities near the Turkish-Syrian border and the Turkish government recently announced that Turkey has so far spent $4 billion (TL 9 billion) for displaced Syrians over the four years of regional conflict.
