American-led global NGO offers creative solutions to greatest humanitarian crisis since WWII
(CHICAGO, IL., 11/13/15) - Syrian Forum USA announced its official launch today, with its first US office opening in Chicago, Illinois. Syrian Forum USA is the US affiliate ofSyrian Forum (SF) which launched in Istanbul, Turkey, four years ago.
SF is a world leading Syrian NGO offering humanitarian aid assistance to displaced Syrians, job training and placement, studies and reports on the Syrian situation, as well as advocacy. It is headquartered in Turkey, the closest logistical satellite to Syria and the country with the largest number of Syrian refugees in dire need of services (two million).It is operating with full-time staff on the ground in Syria; and recently, its European affiliate, SF Austria, launched in Vienna, to assist with the out-pour of refugees into Europe.
The US launch hopes to connect hundreds of thousands of Syrian-Americans and other concerned citizens to SF's established work helping refugees in Syria, Turkey, and Europe. Since 2013, it has ran $40 million worth of development projects, aid and development, affecting 16 million beneficiaries directly and indirectly. SF's aid projects include clean water, sanitation, agriculture,
SF is headed by Ghassan Hitto as its CEO, formerly the first prime minister of the Syrian interim government of the Syrian Opposition. Mr. Hitto, a longtime Dallas-based community leader and activist, joined by other Syrian-American activists including Chicago's M. Yaser Tabbara, a Chicago human rights lawyer, wished to bring their expertise in building and developing non-profit institutions to develop SF into a sustainable platform for offering solutions to the most dire humanitarian crisis since World War II.
The numbers are staggering. 7.6 million Syrians are internally displaced refugees. 4 million refugees are in five neighboring host countries. Tens of thousands of refugees have recently fled into Europe. 15 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. 3 million children are permanently out of school. Hundreds of thousands have been killed and more have been injured.
"We cannot continue to offer band-aid solutions to a gaping wound," Mr. Ghassan Hitto, Syrian Forum's CEO said recently at a speech in Washington DC. "Syrian Forum seeks to hand refugees the fishing rod, and not just the fish. We train them on new skills, and help them find new jobs where they can help their families not only for a day or a month, but indefinitely. We are working hard to put children back in rehabilitated or make-shift schools so that after the crisis subsides they would not have been set back by irreparable damage. We are putting a lot of resources into anti-radicalization initiatives to minimize the conflict cycle and prepare for the post-crisis rebuilding. SF houses six independent institutions that administer these and many other services to make a real and lasting difference for Syrians."
Interview Opportunity: Mr. Hitto will be giving a talk at the Islamic Center of Naperville (2844 W Ogden Ave) on Saturday, November 14 at 5:00pm. There will be opportunities for interviews directly before or after the talk. Please coordinate with Noura Almasri, SF-USA Operations Manager at 630 670 0443. Yaser Tabbara, chief strategist and spokesperson for Syrian Forum is also available for immediate on or off camera comment. He can be reached at 312 718 3725
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