We have just received advice from ShelterBox Australia.
So great is the human tragedy in that area that our ShelterBox Number 15094 was delivered within 14 months of our donation to a displaced family that is in desperate need and living on the Syrian / Turkish Border. It is wonderful to know that our donation is now making a significant difference to a family.
Attached is a letter received from Ibrahim A from Syria via ShelterBox expressing his thanks. Although he did not necessarily receive our box, the letter gives us an insight to conditions in that area, the appreciation and the relief that is provided by these ShelterBox tents.
Angus Tuck
Ibrahim A from Syria
43-year-old Ibrahim lives with his wife and three children in an emergency camp in Syria. All of his children are very young, and one of them is disabled.
Before he moved to the camp, Ibrahim used to work as a farmer, relying on seasonal farming to provide his family’s needs.
He said: “The crisis caused the destruction of the infrastructure of Syria. My financial situation was very badly affected and I became unemployed as a result.
Living under the control of so-called Islamic State was very difficult, because of the fear and terror that dominated us in their presence.”
When asked about the journey from their hometown to the camp they are now in he said: “During the journey, we faced a lot of risks. We paid huge sums to the smugglers in order to reach a safe area, and we were robbed by bandits.
My children were also hit by the harsh weather because of the high heat and burning sun.”
Ibrahim was asked about the most important thing he was lacking when he arrived at the camp. He said: “The one thing we needed when we arrived here was to get some shelter for my children so they could hide from the hot sun.
Fortunately, your organisation was distributing tents on the same day we arrived. The distribution team was the one who noticed us first and they immediately recorded our data and set up a tent for us.
They told us that the tent was now our property and they asked us to put our things in it, they were really good people.”
He added: “The tent has made us feel independent and safe after all the bad conditions we faced during the displacement. The main things we need now is fuel for heating in anticipation of a cold winter, winter clothes for our children and some medicines.”
As an expression for his hopes for the future, Ibrahim said: “ I hope that my children will live in dignity, and that they can make their children in the future live in better conditions than the conditions we have made them live in.”
