Friends of SOS Children dig deep for families in Syria
Guest speaker Jackie Long, Channel 4 News Social Affairs Editor and SOS Children Ambassador, shared insights from her two decades as a Channel 4 and BBC journalist presenting on shows such as Newsnight, The World at One, PM and Five Live.
With more than 5.5 million people in Syria made homeless, including a million children, SOS Children is helping thousands of the most vulnerable people to cope with the impact of war. As part of its emergency relief programme, the charity is providing shelter and food for families, plus nappies and milk for infants; trauma support for children in refugee camps; and help so that children can continue with their schoolwork.
Meryl Davies, Director of Fundraising at SOS Children UK, said: “As the situation in Syria deteriorates, more people are relying on humanitarian aid. With drinking water, medicine and basics like infant milk in increasingly short supply and rapidly rising prices, babies and small children are most at risk. Thanks to the generosity of our local donors, we are helping to bring a little normality to people whose lives have been shattered by war.”
With a permanent presence in Syria since 1981 – including SOS Children’s Villages in Damascus and Aleppo plus three SOS youth homes – the charity is well placed to provide emergency relief on the ground via its well-established support network.
Lady Chadwyck-Healey, a long-standing supporter and former Chair of SOS Children, said: “SOS Children is an exceptional charity that provides high-quality family-based care for children and families who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in the most desperate circumstances. Thanks to its grass-roots local knowledge of Syria, the charity is doing an outstanding job to get help directly to some of those that need it most. We are so grateful to everyone who joined us to support this critically important work.”
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