Pakistan was damaged badly in the last two years due to successive natural disasters. The 2010 floods hit the country particularly hard, killing around 2000 people and leaving millions homeless.
IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation launched a massive aid campaign in the wake of the disaster to help the Pakistani people recover. The foundation rushed humanitarian assistance to affected areas on the one hand and initiated lasting projected to help people become self-sufficient on the other hand.
The foundation is continuing relief works in the region incessantly. Lastly, an orphanage in Haripur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and a mosque in Muzaffargarh that were designed and launched following the flooding were completed and inaugurated.
A 21-member IHH delegation, including volunteers and executives from Bursa IHH and IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation that materialized the project, left for Pakistan to attend the opening ceremony.
The delegation inaugurated the buildings and toured the ongoing projects as well making a number of visits and holding talks in Pakistan.
The opening ceremony for the orphanage in Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was quite exciting. An impressive program was organized for the opening of the orphanage that was financed by Bursa IHH volunteers. The ceremony was attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar, Provincial Assembly Speaker Muhammed Azam Khan, Turkish ambassador to Pakistan Babür Hızlan, Turkish citizens living in Pakistan and scores of Pakistanis.
The ceremony started with recitations from the Quran. Opening speeches were followed by performances of young students, while a karate performance was highly admired by the audience. Speaking after the performances, Governor Kausar thanked the people of Turkey over the assistance and IHH for being a vehicle in the delivery of the assistance. He recalled Turkey’s development in recent years and pointed to Turkey as a good example for Pakistan.
Turkish ambassador Hızlan thanked IHH and Khubaib Foundation for their efforts and activities in the region and said: “The fraternity between the peoples of Pakistan and Turkey dates quite back. We cannot repay the contributions of the Pakistani people to the Turkish people during the War of Independence. The two countries will help each other and walk together.”
Bursa IHH chairman Hüseyin Kaptan recalled that they arrived in Pakistan shortly after the disaster and had so far distributed food and medical items, tents, blankets, stationery sets, water purification systems, textile products and construction materials in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Lasting projects are as important as relief efforts, Kaptan said and explained that they decided to build an orphanage with support from Bursa residents. “We decided to build an orphanage to provide a better future to children who were made orphan by the recent natural disasters. We are quite happy to open this orphanage which was finished thanks to support from Bursa residents.”
After cutting the ribbon, the group walked the building and was briefed by the officials. Group members met the orphans and gave them presents.
The group also visited “Bahattin Yıldız” orphanage that is under construction right next to the completed orphanage. The building is expected to be completed and opened in a short time.
A symbolic foundation-laying ceremony was held for more orphanages which will be built on the 100-square-meter area planned as a large educational complex that will cater to orphans’ every need.
The complex is being constructed considering everything orphans need. When finished it will have all kinds of facilities among others school buildings, orphanages, cafeterias, sports halls, social centers and a zoo.
