Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

After years of helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Tzu Chi Foundation started 2019 by granting financial assistance to 40 Yemeni students in Istanbul.

The targeted students received monthly allowance, and they will continue receiving this assistance throughout one full school year of 2018/2019.

Zakaria Shilan, the head of Yemeni Students Union in Istanbul, said that "these students used to receive financial support from their families. However, the existing war in Yemen resulted in cutting off salaries in the country since 2016, and families could not send any more financial support to their relatives in Turkey."

The 40 students, 3 Master and 37 Bachelor, are currently studying in 7 different universities in Istanbul, specialized in different fields such as engineering, business administration, and other social studies.

"Throughout four years, we have helped over 1.3 million people in Turkey and we are happy to help Yemeni students because one of Tzu Chi's goals is to spread love among people around the world including Yemenis." Faisal Hu, Tzu Chi volunteer, said.

The project is being implemented with cooperation with Yemen – Turkey Association of Friendship and Cooperation and Yemeni Students Union in Istanbul.

"This assistance helps the students to overcome their financial difficulties and allows them to focus more on their studies." Shilan added.

The Tzu Chi Foundation, founded in 1966, is a Taiwanese international humanitarian and non-governmental organization (NGO) with volunteers worldwide. It carries out humanitarian work with its focus on works of charity, medicine, education, and humanitarian culture, which includes works in bone marrow donation, environmental protection, community volunteerism, and international disaster relief.