Local Organizations Gather Support for Turkey & Syria
Over 12,000 people are confirmed dead from the quake, and that number is only expected to rise as precious time ticks away.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hope in the face of devastation. Rescue crews are working around the clock to pull survivors out of the rubble in parts of Turkey and Syria after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the region last weekend. But they’re running out of time.
“We’re not ready to deal with something like this,” says Ismail Abdullah, a volunteer with the White Helmets in Syria. “It’s bigger than us and bigger than any NGO operating in northwest Syria to handle this disaster.”
Over 12,000 people are confirmed dead from the quake, and that number is only expected to rise as precious time ticks away.
“We need help. We need support, immediate support from anyone who can support us,” Abdullah says.
And support is flowing in from all around the world, including from the Carolinas.
Emre Ergungor, president of the Association of Turkish-Americans in Charlotte, is one of those supporters.
“It’s much worse than I anticipated, some cities are totally leveled… We are desperately in need of baby formula, diapers, and hygiene products.”
Boone-based Samaritan’s Purse already has boots on the ground in Turkey.
“We’re deploying a field hospital to treat people,” SP’s Ken Isaacs told us. “That hospital will have two operating rooms and 52 beds in it. We’ll have a staff of about 70-75 people.”
“I’m hopeful that we can contribute in some small way to saving lives and reducing suffering.”
In a humanitarian disaster of this proportion, any amount — no matter how small — could save a life.
“People are people,” Ergungor adds. “There are little differences, some of them are Christian, some of them are Muslim. But, what separates us is really the deli aisle. Some people eat pork, some people don’t. Otherwise, people are people.”
The Association of Turkish-Americans in Charlotte is accepting donations here. They also have a collection point located at
Ozen Air Technology
4205 Golf Acres Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28208
If the collection place is too inconvenient, email them at board@charlotteturks.org to arrange a pick-up. The first shipment will go out on February 11th.
Learn more about how to volunteer with or donate to Samaritan’s Purse here.
