“Every Class Has an Orphan Friend - Classes Competing in Charity” campaign launched in 2013 by IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation in collaboration with Ministry of Education, Department of Religious Affairs and Union of Educators continues this year too on voluntary basis!

In 2016 through “Every Class Has an Orphan Friend” campaign over 1 million charitable students in 8.848 schools across Turkey sponsored living expenses of over 24.000 orphan children in Turkey and across the world. 

“Every Class Has an Orphan Friend” campaign helps children and teenagers studying at various schools get together with orphan children in Turkey and across the world. The campaign allows students in one class raise funds to sponsor education, healthcare, food, clothes and other expenses of an orphan child same age with them thus fosters feelings of conscience, sacrifice, caring about others and good character in our future generations. Given that small sacrifices made at young age helps good-character building, the campaign is expected to help raise a charitable, kind and sharing generation instead of self-centred, cruel and apathetic generation.

The campaign’s goal is to help raise awareness and spirit of sharing in children living in peace and prosperity about children living in hardship in Turkey and elsewhere in the world. These conscious fund-raising to help others will make a significant contribution to the personal and emotional development of the children.

“Every Class Has an Orphan Friend” campaign is a campaign for a charitable Turkey. The campaign aims to build tomorrow’s charitable generation from today. The campaign runs on voluntary basis in pre-school, elementary school, junior high, high school, private and public school with the approval of Ministry of Education. The campaign also is endorsed by Department of Religious Affairs. So it runs in Quranic schools as well. Moreover, Union of Educators which organize the most comprehensive and efficient campaigns across the country is partner in this campaign.

Over the past 3 years in conjunction with education on values, the students who participate in the campaign voluntarily are allowed to see the picture and personal information of the orphan they are sponsoring and to have correspondence through letters. By the end of 2016 academic year over 24.000 orphan children in Turkey and abroad have been sponsored by over 1 million students. This almost creates a butterfly effect of mercy and hope over the world plagued with wars and conflicts. IHH also sponsors living expenses of 86.527 orphan children in 55 countries on monthly regular basis.

The legal basis of the campaign

Upon IHH’s petition for “Every Class Has an Orphan Friend” campaign the Ministry of Education has approved the campaign with writ numbered 88013337/821.99-E.9706402 and dated 08/09/2016 provided “that the campaign runs on voluntary basis, it can be launched in all public/private, pre-schools, elementary schools, junior high, high schools without discriminating between private and public school.”