By Anadolu Agency
March 2, 2023 6:51 amGAZIANTEP, Türkiye
Volunteers are brimming with motivation to help earthquake victims at the tent city in a district of Türkiye’s Gaziantep province, says an official from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Tufan Turhan, a youth coordinator at the tent city in Islahiye, told Anadolu about the significant help volunteers are providing after the twin earthquakes that hit the country’s southern region on Feb. 6.
The tent city is home to more than 350 tents hosting both Turks and Syrians.
“Our staff and colleagues are also voluntarily working in this building. They, too, are earthquake victims, yet many of our friends who have been working here since the first day of the earthquake continue to do so on a volunteer basis. They have never left from the beginning,” Turhan said.
All the aid sent by people from 81 provinces across Türkiye and various areas of the world is being distributed in coordination with the country’s disaster management agency, AFAD, and the district governorship.
“We distribute unit by unit in collaboration with our respective field department chiefs. Our friends also pack incoming humanitarian goods and distribute them to our tents in need. During the first few weeks after the earthquakes, an average of 30 to 35 trucks arrived in this area. Our volunteer brothers, friends and colleagues were delivering these truckloads of aid to suitable locations. However … the daily truck count has dropped to five to six,” he added.
The location is entirely fenced-in and protected. Anti-terrorism unit police and military personnel provide security by controlling the entry and exit of the regular residents.
“From the first day of the earthquakes, we sent nearly 2,500 volunteer staff and volunteer friends to the region, that is to 11 provinces. Our relevant unit chiefs supervise the coordination of each of these. Some travel to Malatya, others to Hatay, and some to Islahiye. They don’t need much encouragement. They’re already brimming with motivation,” he added.
The death toll from the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye rose to 45,089, AFAD said on Wednesday.
The 7.7 and 7.6- magnitude quakes struck 11 provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.
More than 13 million people in Türkiye have been affected.
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