Photo of the Day: The journey of a Syrian food parcel

potd oct 10 Photo: Ibrahim Malla/IFRC

At the Syrian Arab Red Crescent’s al-Maisat centre, many families await the distribution of food parcels. Each food parcel contains 15 kg of rice, five litres of sunflower oil, three cans of tuna, five kg of sugar, one kg of lentils and 15 cans of beans.

While Syrians in need line up and wait for hours for their packages, an even longer journey has been made by these food parcels until they are handed to these families.

The food parcels are packed by hand in Dubai and then shipped from Dubai via Egypt to the port of Latakia in western Syria. After being released from customs in Latakia, they are then delivered by trucks 90 km away to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent central warehouse in Tartous. From there, based on the relief distribution plans, the parcels are transported to different Red Crescent distribution sites.

At the end of the food parcel journey, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent meets the needs of Syrian families. Pictured above, Laila Abd-al Kareem, a Red Crescent volunteer in Damascus, talks to Rania about her situation and her family's urgent needs, which will increase with winter approaching. She has four children, her youngest is in her arms.

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