The Turkey Diyanet Foundation (TDV) provided iftar, or fast-breaking, meals on the first day of Ramadan on Saturday to thousands of Syrians living in refugee camps in northern Syria's Azez, as Turkish aid agencies plan to reach millions of people across the world with food aid during the Islamic holy month.
Volunteers from the TDV, one of the leading charity organizations helping Syrians, distributed meals for nearly 150,000 refugees from afternoon until the fast-breaking time.
Mustafa Tutkun, the head of the foundation, said that the food aid was delivered to the refugees living in camps, where there is no administrative staff and the access to aid is difficult.
The Turkish Red Crescent also aims to reach 20,000 families over the month and will concentrate its iftar tents in the northern Syrian province of Idlib and Palestine's Gaza.
Ships loaded with over 60,000 tons of humanitarian aid will head to countries hit by famine such as South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen.
Iftar meals will also be provided by the İyilikder Charity to 15 countries, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Niger and Palestine.
The Sadakataşı Foundation and the Cansuyu Charity and Solidarity Organization will also hand out iftar meals to refugees around the globe.
In Turkey, the charity will continue its regular aid to Syrian refugees. Some 500,000 refugees who took shelter in Turkey have benefited from aid so far, and the Red Crescent also reached out to about 4.5 million people, who are internally displaced in Syria. The charity hands out pre-paid cards to refugees that enable them to buy food and other basic needs from grocery stores.
Turkey is home to some 3 million refugees, hosting the largest refugee community from Syria.
Ramadan is an Islamic month of giving, and wealthy, local administrations and non-governmental organizations in Muslim-majority countries often spearhead aid campaigns for the poor during the month. "Fitr "or "zakat al-fitr "is a lesser form of "zakat" – obligatory charity given to the poor by every Muslim who can afford it – on the holiday at the end of the month.