The Welfare Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti) and the Global Children’s Well-being Fund today donated US$600,000 (about RM2.5 million) for the Syrian refugee women and children at the Lebanon and Jordan border areas.

The prime minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, who is Bakti president as well as patron of the fund, handed over the contribution to Foreign Ministry secretary-general Othman Hashim at the prime minister’s official residence, Seri Perdana in Putrajaya.

Rosmah said it was hoped that the contribution would help alleviate the suffering and hardship of the refugees, particularly in facing the winter.

“I, as the patron of the Global Children’s Well-being Fund, and the fund trust account committee members are happy to donate USD500,000 for the welfare of the refugee women and children.

“Some US$300,000 of the donation is for the refugees at the Lebanon border areas and US$200,000 for the refugees at the Jordan border areas,” she said during the handing over of the donation.

Rosmah said Bakti contributed US$100,000 for the same purpose, with US$60,000 of it for the refugees at the Lebanon border areas and the rest for the refugees at the Jordan border areas.

She said the contribution would be channelled through the Malaysian embassies in Lebanon and Jordan.

“The embassies will buy the necessary items for the winter season, such as blankets and thick jackets, as well as basic clothing and infant formula for 20,000 children and women at the Lebanon and Jordan border areas,” she said.

Quoting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees statistics, Rosmah said the number of Syrian refugees since the outbreak of civil war in 2011 had risen to 4.59 million, of whom 1.85 million were children.

“I was informed that 1.4 million Syrian refugees are now at refugee camps in Jordan and more than one million in Lebanon. Almost 300,000 of these refugees are children,” she said.

- Bernama