The international charity Mary's Meals, which has been providing meals to school children in Syria since 2017, has issued an appeal for emergency support to communities affected in Aleppo and the surrounding areas.

“Our emergency response will provide urgent support to children and families in desperate need. Please donate today if you can,” said this organisation, which has the necessary bank account for this purpose in Zagrebacka Banka in Croatia.

On 6 February, two earthquakes – registering 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude – hit Syria and Turkey in the space of just 12 hours, killing many thousands of people and causing widespread devastation.

“Our school feeding programme in Syria provides meals for children whose young lives have been scarred by unimaginable trauma. We work with a partner organisation, Dorcas,” the charity said. “Every school day, we normally reach 5,042 children across 18 schools and one community centre in Aleppo – a city which was under siege between 2012 and 2016. A dedicated team of volunteers prepare all the lunches in one school that has reliable access to water and electricity. The food is then delivered to the other locations across the city.”

The charity reports that in the aftermath of the devastating quakes, many of the schools in the affected area have been repurposed into shelters, and children are without school temporarily.

It is of extreme importance for children to continue receiving daily meals, the charity said.