TEHRAN -- An exhibition of paintings by refugee children in Iran opened at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Tehran on Friday evening.
UN Resident Coordinator in Iran Gary Lewis and a large number of Iranian cultural figures attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition, which has been organized by the World Food Program (WFP), a UN agency fighting hunger worldwide.
Thirty-eight works have been selected from about 4000 submissions received from 16 refugee camps during nine months for the exhibition, the secretary of the exhibit, Amir Roshan, said at the ceremony.
“All the money raised at the showcase will be spent on refugee children Iran,” he added.
Organizing such exhibitions is at the top of the agenda for the WFP Country Office in Iran, he stated and asked Iranian people and organizations to help WFP in its mission to cover refugee children in Iran.
Negar Gerami from the WFP Country Office in Iran also delivered a short speech at the ceremony.
“Despite all the difficulties that they experience, the world of all refugee children is full of colors,” she said.
According the WFP Country Office in Iran, some 840,500 Afghan refugees and 45,000 refugees from Iraq were registered in Iran in 2012.
The majority of them live in urban areas and about 30,000 live in 19 refugee settlements, with very limited livelihood options.
MMS/YAW
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