MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. Pupils from Russia’s Vologda and Kursk have sent New Year presents to children in Syria. A total of 45 tonnes of New Year presents was delivered to Syrian children in the framework of the "Children of Russia to Children of Syria" campaign, the Russian Defense Ministry’s department of information and mass communication said on Tuesday.
"In the framework of the pan-Russian ‘Children of Russia to Children of Syria’ campaign, schoolchildren from Kursk and Vologda regions have gathered over 1,000 boxes of presents for Syrian children. Apart from traditional crafts, cards and stationery, they included souvenirs typical for these regions," the defense ministry said.
The presents were delivered to the Chkalovsky aerodrome, and a military-transport plane took them to the Hmeymim airbase in Syria from there.
Part of presents was sent to the Hashim Yusef school in Tartus, where officers of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria gave out the gifts to schoolchildren.
School’s head Asifa Asaad said that presents from Russian schoolchildren will allow Syrian kids to really feel the holiday. "It will raise their moral spirit, and the holiday will gain a positive attitude. Moreover, this year New Year and the Prophet’s Birthday — one of the largest Muslim holidays — will take place several days apart from each other," Asaad said.
"During this time of evil and unfairness, children continue to study, gain knowledge and do everything possible to build the bright future of Syria. We thank Russia for those efforts that it takes for our country in the military, humanitarian and humanistic spheres," she concluded.