For the past week, Vladimir Khavshabo, a representative of the Doctor Lisa's Fair Aid Charity Foundation, has been traveling around Syria with Sputnik employees distributing humanitarian aid collected in Moscow.
Foodstuff, baby food, clothes and shoes, blankets, hygiene items, sleeping bags and generators, flashlights, batteries and candles – all these things will be personally handed over to the needy.
"We collected aid, made arrangements with the Russian Defense Ministry to send it and help distribute it, and a representative of the foundation and two Sputnik employees went to escort the shipment. We needed our own people to go to Syria and control everything," said Lina Kandakzhi-Andreychenko, Sputnik Arabic's editor-in-chief for radio and podcasts.
The first settlement where Sputnik's help arrived was the village of Stamo, a suburb of Jableh. This is the worst-hit village in Latakia province. There are practically no houses left that have not been damaged by the earthquake.
“The city administration of Stamo issued special stamped papers for the victims. Nevertheless, the rumor spread quickly that humanitarian aid was on its way, so when we arrived there were a lot of people, not just victims. First, we distributed aid to those who had lost everything overnight. We tried to give them everything they asked for, including food, clothes, warm blankets, and everything else. In the end, we gave help to everyone who came that day, even to those who had no papers from the city administration, but we tried not to offend anyone,” Vladimir Khavshabo, head of the “Save the Children” program of the Doctor Lisa's Fair Aid Charity Foundation, said.
In a matter of minutes, people lost their families, their friends, their homes, and everything that gave meaning to their lives. A month later, not everyone is able to cope. And people need not only humanitarian aid, but also psychological help, Khavshabo added.
"On the second day of our action, we went to one of the stadiums where we housed 400 people. They were families who had lost their homes. And not just their homes, they had lost everything. I saw people with incredible pain in their eyes. They sit there and they hardly move. They don't want to do anything. But there were also people who, despite their grief, didn't lose faith in the best. We feel sorry for everyone and want to help everyone. All those who received help from us were very grateful to the Russian people," he said.
A humanitarian convoy is leaving for Aleppo today to deliver debris removal equipment to the Syrian Red Crescent. In Aleppo, a humanitarian aid distribution point will be set up at the stadium housing the homeless families.
Sputnik, with the support of the Doctor Lisa's Fair Aid Charity Foundation, has collected about 25 tons of humanitarian aid for earthquake-affected Syrians. With the support of the Russian military, the aid was delivered to Syria and handed over to the affected areas.