BLACKBURN-based charity Al-Imdaad Foundation UK has started work on its second containerised village inside Syria.

The new village will enable another hundred families to move from tents and camps into more suitable and safer homes.

The organisation has already created the UK’s first dedicated village for refugees last December, and education and employment has now started within the village.

The new settlement, which will cost more than £400,000, will be built at Siccu Village of Azaz, Aleppo Governorate, which is inside Syria but approximately 2km away from the Turkish border.

The location has many advantages as it is close to the border of Turkey, relatively safe, and there will be less logistical expenses when importing goods from Turkey.

International Projects co-ordinator Zubair Valimulla said: “As the Syrian people leave their homes due to the ongoing crisis and seek a secure place to live, many people gather in nearby villages on the Syrian and Turkish border, and camp in a refugee camp in Babussalama, living in tents for three years or longer.

“The Al-Imdaad Foundation has taken the initiative to shift the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from Babussalama camp to the new site in Azaz, where container homes are being established.

“This project will provide 100 containerised shelters with additional support of education and social service to the Syrian refugees.”

Al-Imdaad Foundation has also established a soup kitchen where almost 14,000 people are being provided with food on a daily basis.

The charity has also established mobile bakeries in camps, which have produced over 5 million naan breads in 6 months to the Syrian people.