By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard the news of the devastating earthquake that took place in Turkey and Syria on February 6. Nearly 50,000 people have lost their lives so far and hundreds of thousands more have been injured, but there are millions more needing assistance across both countries. And all of this in the middle of winter, while the ground keeps shaking… it’s a really desperate situation.
Lately, we’ve been receiving messages from postcrossers, asking how they can help. While we are not experts, we believe that donating money to local organizations that are on the ground is the most efficient way to help in an emergency like this, as they will know best what people actually need, and can funnel resources accordingly. So, we asked postcrossers in Türkiye and Syria which organizations they recommend — here are their answers:
- AHBAP
- this is a non-governmental organization funded by the Turkish musician and philanthropist Haluk Levent. It works in several different areas of solidarity and cooperation, and it has been very active in disaster relief efforts.
- AFAD
- This is the governmental agency that is coordinating disaster relief efforts in Türkiye — they organize the work with other NGOs, and most of the food, clothing, and other needs of the victims are taken care of by this agency.
- Syrian White Helmets
- A volunteer-run organization that participates in rescue and evacuation missions in Syria, usually as a result of bombings, but now active in disaster relief efforts as well.
Besides these local groups, there are other international organizations present in Türkiye and Syria, among which the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, UNICEF and the UN Crisis Relief Fund are the ones we hear referred to the most. All of these agencies have decades of experience, and a good record helping in emergency situations.
We hope these links will help and encourage you to join us in making a donation to help mitigate the unthinkable effects of this crisis on millions of people. Your donation could become a hot meal, a blanket, a tent, or the help someone who has lost everything needs to restart their life — all of which will be welcome and important in these difficult times.
22 comments so far
we give money to local people from Turkey who then pass it on to their family members and neighbours back home or help them with food, blankets, transports and similar
I'm from Turkey. Even though I'm not from the earthquake region and, thankfully, no one dear to me has passed away, I feel very shaken. Everyone feels this way. We tried our best to contribute to the relief efforts, but what we can do as individuals is generally very limited. Thank you for sharing this post.
I also urge any Postcrosser who is going to send a postcard to a person from Turkey, whether they live in Turkey or another country, to write their good wishes about the earthquake. As I said, even if we haven't been affected ourselves, everyone has a close person or at least an acquaintance living in that region. Not to mention the devastating effect social media can have on a person's mental health at such a time...
These wounds will take a long time to heal. Earthquakes are natural phenomena - we shouldn't forget who and what turns them into disasters.
I donated some money tobthe International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, for they are one of the few international organizations being also active in Syria.
I'm in Halifax Nova Scotia and locally we know that the Turkish and Syrian owned businesses are sending money home so patronizing them helps as well.
A few have also been willing (though it must be hard) so share the personal impact of the quakes with the media so that folks here understand this isn't about something that's just far away.
Thanks for the info--very helpful.
I donate weekly to 2 local charities. Charity begins at home. The only way for me to help internationally is to give to organisations, who take heft payments for themselves.
Thank you for sharing! I second what KitchenTable said, if there are Turkish and Syrian based businesses in your area, please support them so they can send help. Every little and big action counts.
Besides naturally donating help , support and money: is there any rule or idea about sending postcards still?
I've personally used the AFAD site and they have two methods. One is the IBAN bank account number etc and the other is their direct payment method via card.
I tried the IBAN method via my internet banking site and it was problematic because it asked for the branch name and address.
So I tried the direct card payment method and initially I had the issue that it wouldn't process the £sterling payment. However, after converting it to $, it went through. So if you're having problems, that may be the solution.
I'm not Turkish but my ethnic background is Pakistani and we have strong links with Turkiye.
So I would like to offer my condolences to both the people of Turkiye and Syria.
If people would like to know the appropriate Turkish phrases equivalent to "we're sorry for your loss" and "get well soon/may things get better" they are "başınız sağolsun" and "geçmiş olsun" respectively.
If anyone knows the respective Syrian-Arabic phrases, please share.
Thanks for the info❤️
- I recommend the organisations:
"amref flying doctors" & "medecins sans frontieres" -
Thank u so much for sharing this. We’re heartly sorry.
This is a terrible tragedy.. I’m very sorry. My heart goes out to everyone in Turkey and Syria, who continuing to suffer from loss and fear with this calamity. Those poor people and children not been able to feel safe, fearing every tremor. It's unbearable to think what they are still going through. May God have mercy on these people and end their suffering 🇹🇷🕯😢
Love and prayers from the Ukraine! ❤️🩹🙏🇺🇦
Our white helmets are helping you 🙌 🚑🚒🚜🏗..💙💛
i pray for Türkiye and Syria !
Thank youu so much for sharing this. As Turkish people, we are very sorry. Unfortunately, many people living in that area lost their lives. Those of us who do not live in that region are psychologically affected. Thank you to everyone who sent financial and moral support. We hope to recover as soon as possible.
@nards_nuggles
There are organisations with very little overhead expenses, where a large portion of the donations helps people directly. One of these is Plan International. Their finances are very transparent, they support long-term as well as in acute cases trying to build up regions so one day they can support themselves. Not all charities work into their own pockets.
I have a sponsor child for a long time and also did voluntary translations for them, so I read a lot of their annual reports.
I just visited my friend and neighbour Sükrü. He is from Turkey, but has lived in Germany for over 30 years. His home is in the middle of the earthquake region and most of his family lived there until the earthquake. He lost 13 members of his family. It is so sad and unimaginable. Therefore, helping also means listening, crying together and hugging each other. My thoughts are with the people in Syria and Turkey. You are not alone!
Thank you for sharing! Also thanks to ZeeshakBey. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Red Cross, is my friend. We donate to them. Thank you sharing all this info.
Dear friends,
I read your comments. Thanks to all of you. By reading your writings, I feel much better. I'm so glad to have you.
I also donated some money and I pray for rescue and recovery of Syrian and Turkish ppl confronted with the earthquake. Syrian jurnalist Kevok Almassian has created a fundriser on Canadian platform haysatar and aid will be delivered directly to Syrians in need in the area of Aleppo, Hama and Jableh via two humanitarian organizations active in Syria: Souria Betjmana (Syrian authorization number:1069) and We Are Superheroes (French National identification number RNA: W751228993). You can find it here with some video message: https://haysatar.com/campaign/242/help-the-earthquake-victims-in-syria
I've donated some money to NGO, hope people in Turkey and Syria will be fine.
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