KfW is providing EUR 25 million of financial support to Syrian refugee children

In cooperation with the European Union (EU), KfW has committed around EUR 25 million for the construction of sport and leisure facilities for Syrian and Turkish children, adolescents, and young adults.

The initiative has emerged from the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRiT) approved in 2016 as a reaction by the EU to the Syrian crisis and is to be implemented by the Turkish Ministry for Youth and Sports. The aim is to improve access to leisure facilities in selected provinces in Turkey with a high concentration of refugees. The central focus of this is to encourage social cohesion between the Syrian refugees and the Turkish population. The measures are intended to counteract increasing dissatisfaction amongst the population in the host communities and to maintain their willingness to support the Syrian refugees.

“Turkey is a country that has taken in the highest number of refugees in the world. In light of the continuing conflict in Syria, there is an ever-greater need to strengthen Turkish communities in order to preserve social harmony. For this reason – and also to prevent a lost generation – innovative concepts to promote social inclusion through sport and leisure activities are vitally im-portant for Syrian and Turkish young people”, says Prof. Joachim Nagal, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group.

The financial support is to be channeled to 12 south-eastern provinces in Turkey, including the cities of Adana, Gaziantep and Hatay, which each have a high refugee proportion of up to 45%. The initiative will concentrate on Syrian and Turkish children, adolescents, and young adults between the ages of six and thirty. Around 120,000 children and young people will benefit from a total of 25 newly built sports halls, outdoor sports facilities, and youth centres.

There are currently more than 3.6 million registered Syrian refugees in Turkey. 70% of them are under 30 years old.

Original source: KfW
Published on 30 July 2020