I’m sure you’ve heard about the horrific earthquake which struck Turkey on the 6th February. As I’m recording this over 25,000 people have been confirmed dead. Many, many more will be reported so in the coming weeks. Tens of thousands have been injured. And the UN is now saying that at least 870,000 people need food urgently. While millions of people across Turkey and Syria have been made homeless.
This is an appeal for you to donate to one of the various charities who are rushing to the scene at this moment to help the survivors. You have a number of options. You may have campaigns being run in your country by reputable organisations. So here in the UK the Disaster Emergency Committee have launched an appeal that has raised millions. This is an organisation which brings a group of charities together. In this case Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and Islamic Relief amongst many others.
dec.org.uk/appeals/
To help specific groups directly:
The White Helmets are volunteers who have been operating in Syria for many years. They help evacuate people from dangerous areas and offer medical help.
https://www.whitehelmets.org/en/
AKUT Search and Rescue Association. They are a non-governmental organisation offering emergency and disaster relief to people caught up in natural disasters in Turkey.
https://www.akut.org.tr/en/donation
AHBAP an independent civilian organisation who offer disaster relief to communities in need across Turkey. This is the organisation that the kind listener who prompted me to make this appeal recommends.
https://ahbap.org/disasters-turkey
International Red Cross
https://www.icrc.org/en/donate/syria-emergency
Turkish Red Crescent
https://www.kizilay.org.tr/Bagis/BagisYap/404/pazarcik-depremi-bagisi