Charity campaign rallies public for Yemen

A campaign by Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) collected donations for Yemen, which faces a humanitarian crisis amid an ongoing conflict. The "Be A Hope for Yemen" campaign launched four months ago, enabled the agency to supply 7,000 food packages, 640 sleeping kits, 850 blankets and 1,000 school bags to displaced Yemenis.

The public can donate TL 10 by sending a text message to AFAD or can send online donations from the agency's website. Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014 when the Shiite Houthi group overran much of the country. The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains. Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies accuse the Houthis of acting as a proxy force for Shiite Iran.

Turkey is among the biggest donors sending humanitarian aid to the crisis-stricken country. Tens of thousands of people, including civilians, are believed to have been killed and the U.N. estimates 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine. Some 80 percent of the population is in need of humanitarian aid while 17.8 million people have no access to clean water. Reports say one child dies every ten minutes due to diseases and malnutrition.