Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of compassion and mutual understanding, has begun.

Every year, Turkish nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) mobilize to boost humanitarian aid to disadvantaged communities around the world on the occasion of Ramadan.

Kerem Kınık, head of the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the organization will start delivering Ramadan aid worth $7.4 million (TL 108.6 million), and that's only the beginning.

"We have set our sights on reaching out to 8 million people this year," Kınık said.

The Kızılay chairperson also added that the organization will have over 12,000 employees on the ground to organize the aid efforts while more than 75,000 volunteers will also be serving.

Kınık also said that Kızılay aims to serve nearly 4 million iftar meals, a dinner to mark the breaking of the daily fast, this year.

As charitable acts are a staple during the Islamic month of fasting, they have turned their attention to the plight of the displaced people of Ukraine.

Hundreds of thousands of people have left the country already, fleeing into nearby European countries, as well as into Turkey. But the dire need for aid prevails for those unable or unwilling to leave.

Charities based in Turkey reach out to other countries during Ramadan with humanitarian aid packages and iftar meals for Muslims in need.

They are already in the field delivering aid to Ukraine but their activities will increase during Ramadan, when they will deliver meals, blankets, clothes and other aid.

Meanwhile, Turkish charities also focus on delivering aid to African countries.

In Uganda, grocery stores are overcrowded with Turkish charities despite rising inflation and soaring commodity prices in the country.

It can be seen in Kisenyi, a suburb of the capital Kampala, at one of the leading wholesale markets.

Consumers are buying tons of rice and maize flour more than usual, not for extra consumption but to distribute to the less fortunate.

"There are many people who need food aid to fulfill their obligation of fasting. In a concerted effort, we will distribute food packages to more than 3,000 people most in need. The goal is to make it easy for them to be able to fast," Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) coordinator in Uganda Ömer Aykon told AA.

Nationwide commodity prices have been rising at a fast rate in the last two months, meaning it costs more to put food on the table and provide for a family.

Some food items have increased by more than 50% while essential commodities like soap have increased 100%.

Turkish Ambassador to Uganda Fikret Kerem Alp said his country will continue to support the less privileged in times of need.

"In view of the economic deprivation, myself, other Turkish people and well-wishers will be taking part in a series of activities through Ramadan to support those in need as much as possible," said Alp.

Alp will distribute hundreds of food packages to Katwe, a slum in the nation's capital of Kampala, along with Minister For Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs Hajjat Minsa Kabanda.

Member of Parliament for Yumbe in northern Uganda, Naima Melsa Gule Avako, said in a meeting with Alp that the number of people asking for aid has increased and she requested that the Turkish Embassy extend Ramadan support to Yumbe which hosts 1 million refugees, especially from South Sudan.

Other charities are doing their best to close the gap by providing food and other essential items to disadvantaged communities.

Pan-African Muslim Journalists Association (PAMOJA), a networking group of journalists, is running a "One for me, one for you" campaign to provide Qurans, dates and iftar dinners.

It is also providing new clothes to mark the end of the holy month. One of the traditions of ending Ramadan is shopping for new clothes, meeting friends and relatives, and looking and smelling good.

Diyanet, Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs, is also providing food.

"We are buying as much as we can to support as many as possible, due to the rising demand," a Diyanet official in Uganda told AA. Food packages contain cooking oil, beans, rice, sugar and maize, among others.

Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), another prominent Turkish charity, is also set to distribute Ramadan relief items in Uganda.

Muhammet Emin Esmer, IHH's official in charge for East and Southern Africa, said his group is duty-bound to provide relief during the holy month and will be in Uganda to extend a helping hand.

"Ramadan is the perfect time to help, especially those people who lost their businesses and jobs over the past years due to COVID-19. We will be distributing assorted food packages in different parts of Uganda to help such people," Agha Aslam, media coordinator for the Pakistani Association in Uganda told AA.

When it comes to the recently war-torn Ukraine and other countries, many other Turkish charities have upped their efforts too.

Kemal Özdal, head of Sadakataşı Association, told AA that they would be active in 34 countries this year and their aid would focus on people living in conflict zones and disaster-hit areas. The association usually delivers aid to the Middle East, Asia and Africa but they have included Ukraine in their campaign this year.

"We see people increasingly leaving the country through the Polish and Romanian borders. We sent our crews on the fourth day of the war to check their emergency needs. During Ramadan, we will deliver aid for refugees in Romania, Poland, Hungary, as well as those internally displaced in Ukraine," he said. Özdal said both public agencies and NGOs acted fast in response to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

IHH has also been at the forefront of aid, especially for the Crimean Tatars in Ukraine, for years. IHH Deputy Director Emre Kaya says they are working to deliver aid in European countries where the refugees took shelter.

He said they were handing food and blankets to the displaced in Ukraine as well. "We made arrangements for aid to Ukraine this Ramadan. We will set up iftar dinners and give away food packages," he said. Kaya said there was a large wave of refugees from Ukraine and it would be a "new experience" for them to reach out to people in Europe after years of work in other countries.

Recently, Kızılay had sent truckloads of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and set up mobile kitchens for locals. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced last week that 23 trucks carrying humanitarian assistance sent by Turkey had arrived in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. In a statement, the agency said the aid includes 3,536 food parcels, 510 family tents, 26 general-purpose tents, 930 beds, 680 pillow sheet sets and 4,416 blankets.

Aid agencies continue to ramp up their efforts to bring much-needed relief supplies to civilians affected by the fighting in Ukraine, and also to over 3 million refugees who have fled the country since the conflict began.