The Saylani Welfare Trust (SWT) on Wednesday confirmed it has started providing food aid to Syrian refugees at the Turkey-Syria border.
Chief Operating Officer Muhammad Ghazal told Dawn.com that Saylani, in partnership with the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), is working to provide grocery items to Syrians living in a refugee camp.
"We are doing this work alongside the Turkish government. They invited us there," he said. "AFAD is giving us shelter and and providing us all services. We go in to Syria and distribute rations by hand," he explained.
There are currently five Saylani volunteers from Karachi on the ground in Syria. "The rest of the team is AFAD's," Ghazal said.
The charity is providing uncooked rations, such as milk powder, oil and other basic grocery items, to refugees. It has served about 16,500 individuals since it began operations on Monday, he said.
The charity, which receives funding through donations made from all over the world, also plans to set up a tandoor or bakery in the area. The $100,000 cost of the tandoor will be borne by the Trust, Ghazal said. It will continue to provide Syrians with roti (bread) for six months, he added.
Speaking about the Trust's future plans in Syria, Ghazal said, "We want to adopt households there after inquiries and continue to provide for them."
"We don't call them refugees. We call them Syrian guests... and we are hosting them," he asserted.
