CAIRO – Though still struggling to settle in at their new destinations, Syrian refugees are raising money to send food items for besieged people back home in Syria, offering them help urgently-needed for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
“Hello guys, I live in Europe and my family is in Syria,” one user posted on Facebook, Vocativ reported on Thursday, May 31.
“I want do donate through my bank account.”
As the holy fasting month of Ramadan approaches, efforts to collect donations are being spearheaded by various organizations, including Khayr Charity Foundation, and Merslak, a gift delivery company that says it’s inside Syria.
The charities are collecting donations in multiple ways, including directly through bank accounts and via online fundraising platforms.
Khayr, for example, is using justgiving.com to collect money.
Anticipating the holy month, during which people are encouraged to give to the poor, these groups kicked off their efforts just weeks ago at early May.
“Hello, my Syrian friends. For less than one dollar you can fund a meal for our people in Syria,” one post on Facebook reads.
“Help us help more than 125,000 people in Syria in this special campaign for the holy month of Ramadan, which includes a series of different products,” another added.
Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, kicks off on June 6.
In Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint and good deeds.
It is customary for Muslims to spend part of the days during Ramadan studying the Noble Qur’an.
Many men perform i`tikaf (spiritual retreat), spending the last 10 days of the month exclusively in the mosque.
As the conflict in Syria enters its fifth year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has released a new report that the number of children affected by the civil war in Syria has more than doubled over the past year.
UNICEF said the child casualty rates were the highest recorded in any recent conflict in the region.
It cited UN figures that at least 10,000 children have been killed in the Syrian war but noted that the real number is probably higher.
The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that more than 136,000 have been killed since a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.