Syrian Children
NATION’S TRAGIC PLIGHT PUTS SYRIAN CHILDREN AT THE HEART OF SHEIKHA AL-THANI MISSION
As we care for children around the world and work for them since 2013, we have offered several programs to care for the disadvantaged and orphans in many countries. We also care about offering them better opportunities. We are interested in football and organize the SATUC tournament each year in Cairo, in addition to the World World Cup for orphans that we started in Cairo in 2015, and the second edition of the tournament was in 2018 with the participation of 12 countries.
SATUC Foundation has opened a special section for Syrian children to face many challenges before them in cooperation with governments, and governmental and non-governmental organizations around the world. SATUC was among the first organizations to care for Syrian children in their hard circumstances. To maintain the Syrian children, SATUC had special programs to raise their fitness and awareness in addition to developing their skills to give them equal opportunities.
SATUC played a prominent role in hosting them and honoring them in the Egyptian Football Association.
SATUC was able to change the idea about the sad Syrian children and put a smile on their faces during their participation in the orphan football tournament in Cairo and the World Cup for the Orphans in 2015 and 2018.
SATUC performed a humanitarian role to help those children and persuaded the officials in the Egyptian Football Association to open training camps before them where they could find swimming pools, gyms, open stadiums, healthy food, medical care, and professional trainers. The Syrian children will be always cared for by SATUC even when they return safely to their homeland. We’ll always encourage them to become miracles and have equal opportunities with other children around the world.
TRAINING
SATUC performed a humanitarian role to help those children and persuaded the officials in the Egyptian Football Association to open training camps before them where they could find swimming pools, gyms, open stadiums, healthy food, medical care, and professional trainers.
The SATUC World Cup
All of the children participating in the 2015 SATUC World Cup, and 2018 SATUC World Cup Bulgaria had compelling stories to tell of hardship overcome, but the team made up of Syrian refugees embodied most acutely the problems that Sheikha Al-Thani’s foundation seeks to relieve. The tragedy of Syria put their brave and spirited team right at the heart of this great tournament.
In response to the crisis, SATUC took the decision early on to work closely with the Syrian refugee community in Egypt, helping around 400 individuals in the run-up to and during the SATUC Cup. We set up a training camp that got the Syrian team into good shape for the 2015 and 2018 events and saw them compete wholeheartedly and with the enthusiastic support of their compatriots in Cairo.
Syria and SATUC’s close connection was first publicly displayed at the friendly match between a team of refugee boys at SATUC’s Ramadan Suhoor celebration at the Movenpick Hotel in Cairo’s October 6 District on July 7, at which the Syrian boys put up a spirited performance against victors Egypt, and was sealed by the SATUC Cup, where the Syrians defeated the Philippines 5-1 but were otherwise unlucky in meeting two of the tournament’s dominant sides, Egypt and England.
It was not just on the pitch that the SATUC Cup provided opportunities, however. The charity invited 400 Syrian child refugees based in Egypt to attend the tournament and provided these children with food, water, and transportation to and from the venue.
Teaming up with the charity Syria Relief, the charity launched a special appeal for sponsorship in recognition of the fact that, after four years of conflict, millions of Syrian refugee children are vulnerable to disease and malnutrition, as well as violence and exploitation. We heard first-hand how millions have lost loved ones, homes, and schools.
While everyone knows about the scale and depth of the hardship and horrors in that war-torn country, SATUC felt that it was important to highlight how children are the innocent victims of that.
The message was reinforced through According to the Syrian team captain Anas Al Hosari and his assistant Ghassan Kamel, the SATUC tournament gives these exiled kids relief from a harsh present and, in addition, a set of skills that will help them face the future.
“These are children who have lost their childhood, lost their homes, lost their friends,” Captain Anas told us, before his team’s convincing first-round victory over the Philippines. “Thank God that there was this opportunity for them to come to this tournament.”
A man who radiates wisdom, patience, and experience, Captain Anas is himself a former player, for Syria’s Al Wehda team, and he also played for a team in Cyprus. These days he runs a shop in Cairo’s October 6 District. However, such is his dedication to improving the situation for his fellow Syrian children, that for more than a month, he abandoned his job, and his own family to train the Syrian team for SATUC World Cup 2015. In doing so, he knocked a team of enthusiastic but undisciplined lads into shape as a viable competitive team.
That is exactly the kind of dedication and selflessness that this tournament celebrates, and Syria was at the heart of it.
SATUC supports Syrian children
SATUC is a Charitable Organization caring for orphans and underprivileged children. Upon a personal initiative from Her Highness Sheikha Al Thani, SATUC’s interest is now strongly focused on Syrian children. SATUC has become our main concern and SATUC drew attention to the suffering and hardships confronting the Syrian people during the last years. Syrian children have paid a lofty price for the war going on in their country, However, the joint efforts exerted by NGOs and SATUC among them, is to provide them with a better future.
SATUC did not spare any effort to coordinate and cooperate with several governments around the World given overcoming the serious obstacles met by those children, insisting upon the necessity to incorporate them in the educational system of their countries of emigration to prevent them from paying twice the price of war; the first time when they were driven away from their country, and the second time by losing school attendance and education opportunities. We must remember that those children are the builders of Syria’s future, a future of stability to which we all aspire.
The World Cup for Orphans is one of the great events organized and sponsored by SATUC. Concerning the present circumstances, SATUC deems that Syrian children must be an integral part of this indoor football event. In addition, SATUC holds every year a round of football matches for orphans in Egypt; and Syrian children residing in Egypt have been invited to participate in each event. Hence, given its concern for Syrian children, SATUC has adopted the Syrian team to be coached and trained together with their brothers from the Egyptian team in camps specially organized for them where expert coaches train them to acquire better skills and improve their fitness and channel the talented among them to success and stardom.
Our Organization is preparing to launch after a few months the SATUC World Cup and is looking forward to the big role to be played by the Syrian team in this important competition, gathering teams from participating countries, to raise the banner of their country, and declare their determination to overcome all the challenges facing them since the beginning of Syria’s ordeal. Thus they will prove to the world that humans are capable of realizing success and victory despite all the impediments and challenges facing them. Man is endowed with a tremendous power that can be released and oriented to his prosperity with adequate support and capabilities.
To all charitable persons and donors who wish to support the Syrian team and the World Cup for Orphans and underprivileged children championship, SATUC is giving them this opportunity to contribute their donations.
