Thousands of people in need around the world have received meat from animals sacrificed during Qurban Bayram (or Eid al-Adha in Arabic) by Turkish aid agencies. The majority of Muslim countries around the world marked the first day of the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday on Tuesday, while others, including Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Iran began observing the festival on Wednesday.
The state-run Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) distributed meat to around 10,000 families on the Gaza Strip, which has been reeling under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007.
In a written statement, the agency said the meat has been distributed to families of a village in southeastern Gaza that suffered from Israeli attacks in 2014.
The Turkey Religious Affairs Directorate Foundation (TDV) provided meat to 19,000 families in need in Afghanistan. The meat was distributed mainly to war-weary refugees in the capital Kabul as well as in the Herat, Takhar, Samangan, Balkh, Jowzjan and Faryab provinces. Also, the TDV along with several other nongovernmental organizations provided aid to the poor in Nigeria during Eid Al-Adha.
They sacrificed 1,340 animals and distributed meat to around 250,000 people in 10 provinces including Abuja, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Kano. Another Turkish aid organization called Cansuyu, donated meat to 1,500 families in the western African country of Sierra Leone.
The Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) distributed meat to 600 families in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The meat was distributed to martyrs' families, veterans, orphans and people in need in the cities of Sarajevo and Zenica.
The aid group also made meat donations in the Rwandan capital Kigali as well as in the western districts of Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro and Ngororero, the country manager Eyup Kaymaz told Anadolu Agency.
Separately, the Turkish Red Crescent provided 20,000 families with meat across Pakistan, Ibrahim Carlos Camilo, the head of the organization in Pakistan, said.
