DOHA: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) and Turkiye's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly construct the Hayati Sehir City for Orphans in Istanbul.
Expected to be completed within 24 months, the new city will accommodate up to 1,200 orphans affected by the Syria-Turkey earthquake, as well as other orphans from different parts of the world. The foundation stone laying ceremony is planned to be held late this month.
QRCS said in a statement on Saturday that the agreement was signed by QRCS Acting Secretary-General Faisal Mohamed Al Emadi, and IHH Secretray-General Dr Durmus Aydin.
Al Emadi welcomed this promising cooperation with IHH, which was inspired by the close relations between QRCS and the Turkish Red Crescent.
"We are proud to cooperate with a humanitarian organization that works in many parts of the world," noted Al Emadi. "This partnership testifies to QRCS's firm commitment to providing support and care for those in need, including the children who lost their families as a result of the earthquake, as well as other orphans from around the world. We hope that this integrated village will be a stable place for them to shape their own future and build normal lives".
The QRCS Acting Secretary-General added, "I believe that this partnership will contribute significantly to our noble mission of preserving people's dignity everywhere. This educational city will be a child-friendly place where the orphans will find shelter, education, a healthy lifestyle, and other basics of life".
Apart from IHH, the executive partner, there will be coordination with Turkiye's Ministry of Education (MoE), and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will hire experienced engineers for the construction works, which involve two phases, under the supervision of QRCS's office in Turkiye.
For his part, Aydin thanked QRCS for its efforts to help the victims of the Syria-Turkiye earthquake, as well as vulnerable people all over the world. He considered the cooperation with QRCS on this extraordinary project as a "valuable opportunity to take care of orphans and create an appropriate environment for their upbringing, education, and development, thus offering them better future prospects and unlocking their potential".
"This project will be a model for international cooperation to provide care and create opportunities for children in need," he pointed out.
"This charitable work is an icon that will hopefully motivate others to pay more attention to such projects that are in the best interest of communities" In June 2023, QRCS launched a fundraising campaign to establish the Hayati Sehir City in Istanbul, Turkiye, to shelter, educate, and take care of orphaned students affected by the earthquake, as well as other orphans from different parts of the world, to help them shape a bright future and build their own lives and communities, meeting their basic needs, providing a caring environment, and ensure their human dignity.
