For Yatim: Photographers raise money for Syrian orphans

Professional photographers around the world have joined to support Syrian refugee orphans in a charity campaign, called For Yatim, raising thousands of US dollars so far.

As part of the charity campaign, raising funds for Syrian refugees orphans in Turkey, especially orphan families whose livelihood was affected by the COVID-19 crisis shutdowns.

“The campaign which was launched in Ramadan focuses specifically on Syrian Refugee orphans. It is a one-month campaign, so it will be closing this Sunday. We all thought that having one final push on this campaign for the World Refugee Day this Saturday would be great,” Osama Hashmi, a photographer, told Anadolu Agency.

“The way we are raising funds is by offering rare and beautiful photography prints which people from all over the world can buy online for their home as wall-art. But 100% of the proceeds from those sales go towards orphan support,” Hashmi said.

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“We are offering free worldwide shipping because we work with printers all over the world. And the print-quality is museum-grade.”

Twelve photographers got involved in the campaign, including photographers from the US, the UK, Malaysia, and several from Turkey, he said.

The campaign has partnered with the Karam Foundation, which is a charity organisation helping Syrian refugee families in Turkey, and operating STEM-based educational activities in Istanbul and Reyhanli district of southern Hatay province in Turkey, he said.

According to UNICEF, “Since 2015, Turkey has hosted the largest registered refugee population in the world. Over 4 million refugees and asylum-seekers are currently registered in Turkey, of whom nearly 1.7 million are children.”

Turkey has currently 3.6 million Syrian refugees, including 1.6 million children, UNICEF said.

Also, there are nearly 370,000 non-Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers (principally from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran), including some 120,000 children in Turkey.

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