NEW YORK 

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan on Thursday made a global appeal for the Volunteers of the Heart project at an event in New York, on the sidelines of this week’s UN General Assembly. 

Speaking at the event titled "A Starfish Story: A Global Call to Volunteers of the Heart," co-organized by Türkiye’s Family and Social Services Ministry and UNICEF at the agency’s headquarters in New York, Erdogan said: "Today, I join this global call for volunteers of the heart and invite every compassionate nation that seeks to protect our children, the future of humanity, to unite in strengthening foster care."

She added: "Türkiye is ready to share our knowledge and experience in this field with all countries and organizations in need."

Erdogan explained that the Volunteers of the Heart Project was initiated to improve the living conditions of children under state protection and to strengthen the foster care system.

"It is gratifying that the Volunteers of the Heart Project has been recognized as a model project by UNICEF and is now gaining global attention," she said.

Highlighting alarming statistics, she said the number of displaced children worldwide has reached 4 million.

Nearly 470 million children are living under the threat of violence, Erdogan stressed.

"In Gaza, it is estimated that at least 17,000 children have lost their families and were left unaccompanied" over the last year of Israel’s war on the enclave, she said.

"From Ukraine to Yemen, Syria to Myanmar, it is our shared responsibility to leave a hopeful future for all the weary children of the world who are battling war and hunger, and for every child who witnesses these injustices," she urged.

"The family is our most important starting point in changing this dark narrative,” she said. “These children will find the strength to rise from where they have fallen when they are embraced by a loving and secure family environment."

The event took place as Türkiye’s first couple, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emine Erdogan, visit New York to attend the 79th UN General Assembly.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Celik