Gov’t ban on charity Kimse Yok Mu hits orphans

Volunteers from Kimse Yok Mu presented gifts to around 100 Haitian orphans.
Volunteers from Kimse Yok Mu presented gifts to around 100 Haitian orphans.


Date posted: October 25, 2014

Thousands of orphans and needy people around the world whose lives depend on the aid they receive from charities such as Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There?), the largest volunteer and global aid organization based in Turkey, are at risk of being affected by the Turkish government’s restrictions on the charitable association.

Officials from Turkish aid organization Kimse Yok Mu, whose permission to collect donations was recently revoked by a Cabinet decision, remarked that more than 60,000 orphans from seven continents will be harmed by the halt in the charity’s flow of aid.

Kimse Yok Mu, whose SMS donations line was also suspended by service providers in early October, has established and maintained 25 orphanages in countries such as Palestine, Sudan, Somalia and Bangladesh.

The charity brings help to almost 60,000 orphans in 56 countries and more than 15,000 in Turkey. As well as building orphanages in countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Bangladesh, Burundi and Kyrgyzstan, Kimse Yok Mu performs renovations and furbishes new and preexisting buildings in those countries.

Furthermore, it also grants scholarships to more than 1,300 students a year from Pakistan, Somalia, the Philippines, Sudan, Albania, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus and Niger. It also gives free education yearly to 111,000 orphans and widows through vocational courses in seven countries, including needlecraft and knitting, handicrafts and various other courses, depending on the needs of the country.

Ayşe Adıgüzel, who lost her husband last year, is just one of the people who rely on the aid of Kimse Yok Mu in İstanbul. She has three children, with the youngest being 3 years old. Finding it hard to understand the attempts to suspend or stop the activities of the charity, Adıgüzel states she is happy that her children are able to have an education with the help of Kimse Yok Mu.

Giving information about the activities of the charity, international relations expert Zeynep Metin said: “Before helping people, we carry out social research to determine the real needy people among thousands of applicants. Kimse Yok Mu supplies ready cash for rent, utility bills or other expenses, as well as scholarships, stationery, clothes, furniture, accommodation and food.”

Underlining that the cancellation of Kimse Yok Mu’s right to collect donations without the permission of the authorities, following an abrupt Cabinet decision, would harm the needy the most, Metin stated that Kimse Yok Mu will go on helping people despite the circumstances.

Source: Today's Zaman , October 24, 2014


Related News

Turkey’s Gulen supporters flee to Greece – BBC World

Hundred of members of Turkey’s Gulenist network have sought refuge in neighbouring Greece. Turkey accuses the network of being behind the failed coup in July 2016. And in recent months, the number of lives in exile appears to be increased as the BBC’s Cagil Kasapoglu reports from Thessaloniki.

Corruption investigation: Questions that will hound PM Erdoğan

Everyone is wondering now what is behind the corruption investigation, and the first “suspect” to come to many minds is the Islamist Gülen movement. Tensions between this group and the AKP have been rising over the years, and boiled over recently due to the prep-school issue – a matter that has received wide media coverage.

The Gülen movement denies this but the vitriol flying between daily Zaman, which is close to Gülen, and Yeni Şafak, which is staunchly pro-AKP, is enough to give one a sense of the bitter struggle involved.

Will the military take up arms against Gülen supporters?

In modern states, again, elected governments will be the final authority to decide about external threat perceptions after compiling input from related institutions, including the military.

Turkey: Detained higher education professionals at risk of torture

Scholars at Risk (SAR) is gravely concerned about sweeping actions against Turkey’s higher education sector, including most recently prolonged incommunicado detention and related risks of torture and ill-treatment of hundreds of higher education professionals, in violation of Turkey’s obligations under domestic and international law.

İstanbul woman suffers miscarriage in police custody

Büşra Atalay, a Turkish woman who has previously been dismissed from her job over alleged Gülen links, lost her unborn child when she was detained and interrogated at an İstanbul hospital on Thursday.

Fethullah Gülen’s Condemnation of the New Year’s Eve Terrorist Attack in Istanbul Nightclub

Fethullah Gulen issued a message of condolences and condemnation of the terrorist attack in an Istanbul nightclub on New Year’s Eve. Gulen said, “I pray that God grant mercy and forgiveness to those who lost their lives during a time normally reserved for celebration, hope and renewal.”

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Secretary Tillerson: Evidence against Gulen provided by Turkey inadequate, while voluminous

[Part 3] Gülen says gov’t cut back on rights and freedoms in Turkey

“Volunteers of education can end the chaos in the Muslim world”

Islam followers from across the world receive teachings of Monroe County religious leader

EU anti-terror chief: Gülen network not terrorist organization

Turkish imam in Australia mobilizes worshippers to spy on Gülen movement

Erdogan in Africa: Gulen and trade ties

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News