• Arab Orphan Day is observed annually on the first Friday of April

Rashid Hassan 

RIYADH: The Saudi aid agency, KSrelief, is supporting orphans in war-torn Yemen to help vulnerable youths and alleviate their suffering.

The KSrelief media department on Sunday said that it “was sponsoring financially 148 orphans in Yemen’s Aden governorate, an initiative that coincides with the Arab Orphan Day.”

On the first Friday of April of each year, the Arab world celebrates Arab Orphan Day, dedicated to highlighting the issues of orphans and raising awareness of their rights, problems and concerns. It organizes events and initiatives aimed at improving the lives of orphans, providing them with moral and material support, and encouraging communities to contribute to supporting orphans and working to improve their conditions and provide them with opportunities to live in dignity and achieve their goals in a decent life.

It added that the sponsorship program marks the second phase of a broader KSrelief project targeting orphans in eight Yemeni governorates: Aden, Lahj, Hadramaut, Al-Mahra, Hodeidah, Taiz, Marib, and Al-Jawf.

With a focus on long-term support, the project aims to empower 440 families by creating sustainable job opportunities.

This will equip them with a steady source of income, enabling them to secure essential living needs, education and health care.

It aims to mitigate the economic hardship many families face after losing their breadwinner.

By strengthening their financial situation, the project helps orphans to stay enrolled in schools and pursue their education.

To help them to pursue their education, school bags will also be distributed to 1,300 orphans — both boys and girls — as part of the initiative.

KSrelief’s intervention builds on Saudi Arabia’s long-standing commitment to providing humanitarian relief to Yemeni orphans.

This comprehensive program aims to improve living conditions, alleviate their suffering and pave the way for a brighter future.

KSrelief has distributed humanitarian aid to thousands of people around the world.

Since 2015, when it was established by King Salman, KSrelief has implemented 2,673 projects worth more than $6.5 billion in 98 countries, in cooperation with 175 local, regional and international partners, including UN agencies.

The bulk of the support has gone to Yemen ($4.3 billion), Syria ($391 million), Palestine ($370 million) and Somalia ($227 million).

KSrelief’s programs cover a range of humanitarian aid needs including food security, health, sanitation, shelter, nutrition, education, telecommunications and logistics.