The entire ALDA team and Governing Board express their deepest condolences and support to all states and communities affected by the terrible earthquakes that have impacted many countries and have had deadly consequences in Türkiye and Syria.
While too many have lost their lives and are injured, many others who are still alive have lost their homes and find themselves exposed to life-threatening weather conditions with no shelter. The number of victims of all these different factors is increasing every minute.
We call on all our members, our network and community to stand in solidarity with the Turkish and Syrian people in these critical times, as well as on foundations and donors to direct their actions in response to the needs.
Numerous initiatives are underway in the affected territories and our partners are already highly mobilised to support the emergency aid action on the ground. You will find listed below their recommendations for ways to help them:
1️⃣ Providing direct financial support to reliable Turkish and Syrian organisations operating on the field
Note: in order to avoid scattering and attempt to capitalise on resources, we recommend only a few associations, which are the ones that have been the most frequently mentioned by our network.
You can send money to the following local humanitarian aid associations by bank transfer:
Türkiye:
- Ahbap derneği: Non-governmental organisation gathering thousands of volunteers and responding most of the emergency needs on field https://ahbap.org/disasters-turkey
- İhtiyaç Haritas: social cooperative assessing the needs on the ground through fieldwork in coordination with public institutions, and delivering emergency needs to the survivors.
- AKUT Vakfı: Voluntary, non-governmental organisation involved in searching, assisting and rescuing the victims of the earthquake for the past three decades.
- The Union of Municipalities of Marmara called to support AFAD, (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of the Ministry of Interior).
Remember, there is no small donation, no matter how much you contribute, it will help.
We call on all our members, our network and community to stand in solidarity with the Turkish and Syrian people
2️⃣ Support financially the humanitarian associations in your country or the international organisations intervening on this disaster
At the international level, reliable organisations such as the The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (campaign for Türkiye, campaign for Syria), Doctor Without Borders, OXFAM have teams on site and are operating in the field, while others redirect funding directly to local associations, such as Turkey Mozaik Foundation or Turkish Philantropy Funds.
National branches of international organisations can also be found in your country if you prefer sending money through them, or alternatively, you can turn to relief associations from your country that are delivering aid and taking action on the disaster areas. However, be careful to find out beforehand which association you are donating to and prioritise those that are state independent and well recognized.
3️⃣ Contribute to charity collections and donations in your city
More than ever, the communities affected are in need of basic necessities (clothing, blankets, etc.) in order to get to safety, and rescue workers and medical teams are in need of first aid and medical supplies.
Find out what initiatives are in place in your area and what kind of goods are being collected, and try to contribute with what you can.
If you are in Türkiye:
❗️Urgent call from our Turkish member, the municipality of Edremit: ❗️
Edremit Municipality is collecting more essential necessities to send to the seismic areas. At the moment there is an extreme necessity of generators and power sources, sleeping-bags and flashlights and camping tents. The Municipality of Edremit has been sending since the day of Monday trucks full of clothes, materials, medicines, water and food supplies. In addition we are also operative in the areas of the disaster with several teams composed of employees of our Municipality that reached the cities of Karahmanmaraş, Hatay and Antakya in order to participate in the rescue operations and distribute safely the materials sent.
If you want to make donations, you can find the address of the municipality here
4️⃣ Re-share this information to give visibility and bring more people to provide support
A few days after the events and while thousands of new victims are still being recorded every day, let’s not let this tragedy already fall into oblivion. The more you communicate about it, the more it contributes to keep raising awareness amongst people at the international level and thus mobilising resources and aid in the long term to help the affected populations.
Finally, we would also like to share the actions undertaken by our Member “Marmara Municipalities Union”, which is working on a report, underlining the different actions taken by the municipalities in response to the earthquake. If you wish to get in touch with them, you can check their website
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This article will be updated as we receive recommendations from our contacts in the field.