I will talk first about the funds given by Canada, and after that I will talk about other donations coming to the White Helmets from other friends.
The Canadian money has been used to make places for women in the White Helmets, and also to increase the number of women volunteering with the White Helmets. The percentage was 0.5% up to 2018. Now it is 10%, and this is thanks to Canadian money and Canadian donations to the White Helmets.
As you know, in all communities women form half of the population. In Syria, maybe our culture is a bit different from western culture. However, we wouldn't have had access to all walks of life and parts of the community without those donations. Since receiving the Canadian support, we've been able to employ around 400 women in different locations in all parts of Syria. We have accessed communities, women, and children, and we've provided our services more efficiently. We've provided medical care. Women have provided medical care and first aid to other women. This was all from the Canadian donations that have been given to us during the last two years.
Regarding the rest of the donations coming from other friends, these have been used for searches and locating people, buying equipment for searches, and also for buying machinery and paying some rewards. We call them “rewards” because they're not large sums. We can't call them “salaries”. This is volunteer work, but some of this money has been paid as rewards or donations to other members and other volunteers who are sacrificing their lives. They all have families. They take care of their families, and they needed this money very badly.
Some of this money has also been used in campaigns to enlighten people and teach them about the systematic aggressions, and about concerns regarding weaponry and bombs and the like.
Also, we use this money to train our volunteers, such as those in civil defence. As you know, any mistake that a civil defence officer commits could make him lose his life, so it's very dangerous work. That's why training is very essential and key in this regard. We offer services. We offer training regarding firefighting services.
There are more details. I don't want to be very long in my explanations, but if you need anything more I'll be happy to add.