Türkiye is ready to heal wounds altogether after major earthquakes.
As the Association for Supporting Contemporary Life, we are determined to get through these days together!
Our CYDD Headquarters Disaster Unit and our 122 branches started work to provide all kinds of assistance to the regions affected by the earthquake, especially to Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the earthquake.
Following the extraordinary meeting held by our ÇYDD Headquarters Board of Directors about the earthquake, we started a needs assessment study which will be carried through by the ÇYDD Headquarters Disaster Unit. We held an extraordinary meeting with the ÇYDD branches in the region affected by the earthquake and received information about the current situation and latest developments. We established an Earthquake Crisis Desk by identifying our members and students in the earthquake region and took action to work in coordination with the branches and non-governmental organizations in the region in order to support the disaster victims.
We are working non-stop on determining the current situation and the urgent needs of our 3,600 students who are studying in the earthquake region or whose families live in the region and on providing the necessary help to them.
We currently know that 22\% of these students are living in the region and 70\% of their families are directly in the earthquake zone. We found out that 52\% of the places where our students and their families were staying in the area were damaged and 70\% of these people were looking for shelter. Our students and their relatives in the region urgently need shelter, food, clothing, and financial assistance. As CYDD, with your help, we aim to support our students and their families, help heal their wounds, and help them to continue with their education.
We submitted our petition to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and the Governorship of Istanbul stating that we are ready to support the post-earthquake efforts; We will accelerate our support efforts for disaster victims throughout the country.
At the same time, we are supporting the supply provision efforts of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to the earthquake region with our youth; we are contributing to the disaster relief efforts with 170 young people who are volunteering at the IMM Yenikapı and Kartal Centers.
Following the search-and-rescue efforts in the region affected by the earthquake, you can first contribute to the aid-in-kind campaigns of the local administrations in order to meet the urgent needs of our disaster victim students and their families, and then follow our association’s activities through the www.cydd.org.tr address.
"Not the earthquake, but the building kills!" is not just a slogan, it is the most painful reality in our country. We sincerely believe that we will rekindle hope in the face of this great pain. We wish that our citizens who are trapped under the rubble will be rescued as soon as possible. We wish eternal peace to those who lost their lives and urgent healing to the injured.
We will heal our wounds together.