Annual overview 2023
1st earthquake in eastern Turkey and Syria
In February 2023, we initially provided supplies to two villages near Kahramanmara, Küpelikiz and Pazarcik, in cooperation with the associations Zincon, Solingen hilft, ZIVD.de and Willkommen in Nippes. We bought several living and hygiene containers. Bita and Khalil Kermani continued the support with relief supplies on site. A truck from Chemnitz from Human aid collective transported relief supplies from Avicenna to Idlib. Previously, 18 articulated lorries from the civilian crisis team led by Tobias Winkler had successfully reached Syria from Iraq.
2nd Physiotherapy clinic in Gaziantep
The newly founded physiotherapy clinic in eastern Turkey, which was co-financed by Avicenna via Tiafi, has space for fifty children injured by the earthquake and the war in Syria. They are provided with prostheses and physiotherapy. Bita and Khalil Kermani visited the construction work. The clinic organized by Tiafi is now fully booked and treats refugee children from the entire Turkish-Syrian border region.
3.Tiafi
Avicenna has been supporting Tiafi in Izmir for years as our largest ongoing project. As a result of the earthquake, many thousands of Syrian refugees were dropped off in Izmir without any further help. In the first four weeks after the earthquake, 4,000 of them were registered and counseled by TIAFI.
We were on the ground and supported Tiafi in providing these people with mattresses, blankets and food parcels. In addition to the open kitchen with 600 portions of food a day, numerous food parcels and baby food were also distributed every day. We were also able to advise our three physiotherapists in their work, visit the training courses for sewing and cell phone repair and our school in the refugee camp. In order to be able to continue Tiafi’s numerous children’s projects in the future, we have applied for support from „Ein Herz für Kinder“ for 2024.
4.war in Tigray
We support three projects, Etiopia Witten, Hawelti and Selam, which Navid Kermani visited during his trip to Ethiopia for „Die Zeit“: With Etiopia Witten, we were able to set up a trauma center for raped women in Mekelle. We helped Hawelti to care for malnourished children in Aksum and with Selam we supported the Wukro children’s village. Christoph Zinstag was there in July and writes: The children’s village is in full operation, all the classrooms are filled to capacity, the farm produces milk, fruit, vegetables, maize, people come from the city to shop in the farm store. With our donations, we were once again able to provide emergency aid for the local population.
5 Flooding in The Gambia
Shahab Kermani, who has travelled to various countries in East Africa, organized support for those affected with relief supplies.
6th Children’s village in Tanzania
In Mkenge, we are supporting the construction of a children’s village for www.waisenkindertansania.de with a farm, solar panels and its own well. We have also pledged to build a treatment room for 2024.
7.network Civilian crisis unit
As a founding member, Avicenna has been cooperating with the Civilian Crisis Unit since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Among other things, over 600 pallets of relief supplies are sent to Ukraine and other crisis regions every week.
Numerous members of the Civilian Crisis Unit network met in Berlin at the beginning of September. Avicenna was represented by Leif Lupp.
8,Relief supplies and laptops for Greece
The lecturers and employees of the BfA collected for the victims of the fire. Thanks to Human Plus, a truck was able to bring the relief supplies directly to Alexandropolis. The IT company CGI donated 16 laptops to Avicenna, which were also brought to our partner Naomi in Thessaloniki by Human Plus. They will be used to train refugees in Greece.
9th earthquake in Morocco
Avicenna helped with relief supplies via the ZIVD.
10. floods in Greece
Anestis Ioanidis from Human Plus was able to distribute our relief supplies directly on site.
11th Thessaloniki
Mauricio, the director of QRS in Thessaloniki, passed away in November. For many years, he took care of the children there and organized the medical care of two camps, which we financed with medication. Now we are trying to support Naomi in continuing this important work. Some volunteers have already been found to help out temporarily. For 2024, we have agreed to co-finance a permanent Casa Base manager to continue Mauricio’s wonderful work.
12.Iran
In addition to our ongoing projects, help is always needed.
13.Christmas presents for crisis regions
Once again this year, we were able to help with the wonderful „Liebe im Karton“ gift campaign. Many hundreds of helpers in Germany were able to bring great joy to tens of thousands of children in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
We would like to thank all our donors and helpers for making this possible and wish them and our world peace, health and joy in the New Year.
Annual overview 2022
Thanks to generous donations, we were once again able to finance our largest project in 2022, Tiafi in Izmir, Turkey. This means that the war-disabled Syrian children can continue to be cared for by our two Syrian physiotherapists, and many hundreds of people receive food, care, information and, in some cases, training every day. Our school in the Syrian refugee camps can also continue to run.
Then the war in Ukraine escalated. Thanks to your spontaneous donations, our member Leif Lupp was able to take three fully loaded vans to the Ukrainian border right at the start of the war in March and reload them several times. Further aid to overview 2021
Greece
In Thessaloniki, we continue to support Naomi and the QRT with Mauricio, including with medicines for the Vagiochori and Diavata camps, the placement of volunteers and several deliveries of relief supplies. We were able to organize the establishment of two dental practices for medical volunteers. In Athens, we continue to support Khora free store with the purchase of food and other relief supplies and were able to organize, finance or support several deliveries of relief supplies. In Lesbos, we support the work of stand by me lesvos by arranging and sending relief supplies, among other things.
Turkey
In Izmir, the Tiafi refugee project is mainly financed by Avicenna. Following a detailed assessment, we also received generous support from the Schmitz Foundation for our sewing training project there. In addition to further training, language courses, the advice center and food distribution as well as a canteen kitchen for refugees and needy locals, we continue to finance two physiotherapists for war-wounded Syrian children there, with around 60 patients. We also support particularly needy families and orphans. In Torbali, we continue to finance and organize our school with two teachers and around 60 children in the refugee camps and regularly distribute relief supplies and food cards.
Iran
In Isfahan, we supported the Avicenna High School in Isfahan, founded by Avicenna founder Dr. Djavad Kermani, with the purchase of heating systems this year. Due to the large increase in refugees from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, we are helping to build a school for around 360 Afghan children. By the end of the year, five classes are already being taught in the basement and the German Ortho-Bionomy Society has taken over the financing of the next floor. In the desert village of Harand near Isfahan, we are continuing to fund speech therapy and bus transportation for children from the surrounding villages for the local school for the disabled. Due to the loss of state support and the failure of the heating system in winter, additional support was approved at the end of the year following a needs assessment. Due to a severe shortage of medicines as a result of the economic boycott, we organized an appeal for donations for medicines for children with cancer at the beginning of the year.
Bangladesh
In Coxbazar, we carried out three aid campaigns for the Rohingyas this year following the flood disasters and the major fire.
Romania
The entire equipment of the practice of Avicenna member Dr. Hamid Kermani from Wilnsdorf was sent to Romania together with numerous relief supplies in two truck transports for the construction of a hospital with „love in a box“.
Annual overview 2021
Greece
In Thessaloniki, we continue to support Naomi and the QRT with Mauricio by providing medicines for the Vagiochori and Diavata camps, arranging volunteers and delivering several relief supplies, among other things. We were able to organize the establishment of two dental practices for medical volunteers. In Athens, we continue to support Khora free store with the purchase of food and other relief supplies and were able to organize, finance or support several deliveries of relief supplies. In Lesbos, we support the work of stand by me lesvos by arranging and sending relief supplies, among other things.
Turkey
In Izmir, the Tiafi refugee project is mainly financed by Avicenna. Following a detailed assessment, we also received generous support from the Schmitz Foundation for our sewing training project there. In addition to further training, language courses, the advice center and food distribution as well as a canteen kitchen for refugees and needy locals, we continue to finance two physiotherapists for war-wounded Syrian children there, with around 60 patients. We also support particularly needy families and orphans. In Torbali, we continue to finance and organize our school with two teachers and around 60 children in the refugee camps and regularly distribute relief supplies and food cards.
Iran
In Isfahan, we supported the Avicenna High School in Isfahan, founded by Avicenna founder Dr. Djavad Kermani, with the purchase of heating systems this year. Due to the large increase in refugees from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, we are helping to build a school for around 360 Afghan children. By the end of the year, five classes are already being taught in the basement and the German Ortho-Bionomy Society has taken over the financing of the next floor. In the desert village of Harand near Isfahan, we are continuing to fund speech therapy and bus transportation for children from the surrounding villages for the local school for the disabled. Due to the loss of state support and the failure of the heating system in winter, additional support was approved at the end of the year following a needs assessment. Due to a severe shortage of medicines as a result of the economic boycott, we organized an appeal for donations for medicines for children with cancer at the beginning of the year.
Bangladesh
In Coxbazar, we carried out three aid campaigns for the Rohingyas this year following the flood disasters and the major fire.
Romania
The entire equipment of the practice of Avicenna member Dr. Hamid Kermani from Wilnsdorf was sent to Romania together with numerous relief supplies in two truck transports for the construction of a hospital with „love in a box“.
Annual overview 2020
Greece
At the beginning of this year, there were about 18,000 people living in the Moria reception centre on Lesvos, of which about 4000 were children and young people. We helped set up the stand by me lesvos school and find other support. Together with other organisations, we made regular classes possible for many of them.
Medical care: At the beginning of the year, many aid workers and also doctors fled first from the radical right-wing mob, then from fear of Corona. We financed three Greek doctors who worked in Moria through „Kitrinos“ and helped to organise medical equipment and medicines.
In Thessaloniki we also worked as doctors ourselves and financed a large part of the medicines for the whole year.
Relief supplies: After the fire in Moria, Tobias Winkler from „Liebe im Karton “ organised a Germany-wide relief action and within a few weeks 4 low loaders with valuable relief goods could be collected and sent to Lesbos. In the course of the year, together with friends, we were able to organise and support numerous other transports of relief goods, both to Lesbos and for the refugees in Athens and Thessaloniki.
Due to the good connection with the organisations and people in Greece and Germany and the corona-related restrictions, the „home office“ help became more and more important.
Turkey
In Izmir, we became the main supporter of Tiafi, the main drop-in centre for refugees and local people in need, especially also in Corona times. In contrast, we had to temporarily close our school in the refugee camp in western Turkey due to Corona. However, we were able to continue the food supply, which is particularly important due to Corona.
Syria
We collected two lorries of clothes and other aid and financed the transport of 6 large containers of relief goods.
Iran
In Iran, the virus hit the economic embargo and various natural disasters. We helped with food and relief supplies and are collecting for medicines.
We thank all donors and helpers for making this work possible.