Several earthquakes of magnitude 7.8, 7.7, 4.4, and 5.6 shook the Central & Southeastern regions of Türkiye, near the border with Syria on February 6, 2023, at around 04:17 AM (01:17 UTC), causing major upheavals mainly in the cities of Gaziantep, Killis, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus.
It’s reported that around 12,000 people in northwest Syria and around 80,000 people in Turkey have been injured by the quake, with the death toll standing at nearly 41,000.
Videos from the quake hit regions in Turkey showed – day breaking over the rows of collapsed buildings, apartments exposed to the grounds, and people rushing to save lives in the freezing cold weather.
Shelter, winter clothes, and multi-purpose cash needs has been identified as top priorities among displaced populations.
Consulate General of Turkiye
Conscious that the tragedy has impacted millions of lives especially those of women and children, Miles2Smile, as a first step, activated a fundraising campaign on February 8, 2023, receiving both online and offline in-kind donations to send help to the affected families in severely impacted regions via the Turkish Embassy in Delhi.
Soon, the donations began to flow in, and we were astounded to see an overwhelming response from the Indian Population. To them, we express our deepest admiration. In only four days, we could raise 20 lakhs from more than 1,100 donors.
We also express our deep admiration to the volunteer groups, and our local partners – MEEM Foundation, Fatima Charitable Trust, Forever Muslim, Project Rahee, and Project UMEED for shouldering our relief response. Meanwhile, “our deepest condolences go out to the people of Türkiye and Syria for the tragic loss of life and destruction”.
The Seismic activities broke along about 100km (62 miles) of the fault line, being the deadliest ever in the last 200 years, especially in the regions that were less prepared to deal with tremors of such magnitude.
The cause of this deadly disaster was the movement of the Arabian plate northward and the resulting pressure build-up against the Anatolian plate. The land on which buildings and infrastructures are built rests on these plates that continually collide, push and grate against each other. The meeting points of these plates are called ‘faults’, and bordering areas of Turkiye & Syria are the regions situated along a series of major fault lines.
As of February 18, 2023, while the aftermath of the tragic event is still being assessed, Miles2Smile has already dispatched aid in two slots, each consisting of four trucks full of the most essential relief items, in coordination with the Turkish Embassy in Delhi, to help meet the increasing demands of relief material in the quake-hit regions.
List of Relief Supplies sent on : 13-02-2023
(14,513) Sanitary Pads, (5574) Baby Diapers, (1124) Woolen overcoat unisex, (360) Snow Boots, (356) Baby Feeder Bottles, (345) Blankets, (248) Kids Cloths, (161) Woolen Mat, (160) Baby Food, (146) Ladies Warm Cloths, (100) Tents For 2 people, (100) Flexible Chairs, (46) Sleeping bags for (-5C), (40) Men’s Warm Clothes, (36) Floor Mats.
List of Relief Supplies sent on : 15-02-2023
(100) Thermal Tents (For 3 people), (100) Pillow (Inflatable), (84) Long Overcoats (Unisex), (16) Folding Chairs (100) Blankets ( 6000) Sanitary Pads (1200) Baby Diapers, (126) Boots (Unisex), (40) Sleeping bags.
Throughout these two weeks, our teams have been working day and night mostly on two workstreams:
- Urgently spreading our fundraising campaigns and calling individuals and local organizations to action.
- Keeping constant communication with the Embassy Officials to identify the most desperate and impactful short-term needs.
On the fourth day, since we started our campaign, we were able to successfully reach our target donation which immensely helped us in mobilizing relief efforts and gave us a thrust forward. We were humbled by the overwhelming response from our community of supporters.
In the upcoming days, we will be extending further aid for the medical equipment and generators which will be used in the region affected by the earthquake.
Keep following us for updates on how your donations are being used to make a positive impact on the lives of survivors. Please spread the word and share our second campaign for medical aid by clicking on the link here. Thank you for your support.
Miles2Smile’s donation policy ensures 100 percent usage of all designated contributions on expenses related to supporting that specific program or response. Moreover, we’ve decided to utilize all the general donations, as well, received this month solely for this cause.
