US Muslim group honours Turkish first lady for her humanitarian efforts

Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has been awarded for her humanitarian efforts by a leading Muslim group in New York.

Erdogan was honoured with “Outstanding Humanitarian Award” during a ceremony on Sunday, organised by US Council for Muslim Organisations, a coalition of national, regional and local Muslim groups, in New York City.

“I am happy to be with you on the occasion of this very meaningful award ceremony. I accept this award on behalf of my country, which is the conscience of the world,” Erdogan said in her remarks at the ceremony.

“Our religion tells us that the best competition among people is to compete in good deeds. In this sense, our record is full of examples of a charity race that astonishes people,” she added.

Erdogan recalled Türkiye continued to be most generous nation according to the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2022, saying “we have worked to be the first ones” who reach to aid of those in need regardless of their religion, language and race.

She said Türkiye is continuing its humanitarian aid not only through bilateral level with nations, but also through the UN, and it has reached $7.7 billion in aid to 122 countries, including Syria, Somalia and Palestine in 2021.

Türkiye is also working to meet medical needs of those in need in “fragile” areas, said Erdogan, citing hospitals built in Sudan, Somalia and Bangladesh.

“Türkiye’s humanitarian aid experience is much more than a foreign policy,” she said.

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First Lady's endeavours

Erdogan helped national projects to encourage girls’ and women’s education, launched health care projects for children, women and refugees, and initiated “Zero Waste” project in 2017 to highlight climate crisis and pollution.

The first lady said the number of refugees in the world exceeded 100 million with the Ukraine conflict.

“As you know, our lands throughout history have been a safe haven for people fleeing war and persecution. We have opened the doors of this shelter to our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, as well,” she added.

The first lady also traveled to Myanmar in 2012 and visited Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh in 2017 despite the challenging situation back then.

Erdogan has also been in support of women’s empowerment in Africa. 

She visited more than 20 African nations between 2014 and 2020, including Algeria, Ethiopia, Somalia and Tanzania, among others.

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