In the early morning hours of Monday, February 6th, a powerful, 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck south central Turkey and northern Syria. The earthquake caused at least 4,300 reported deaths across the affected region as thousands of buildings collapsed. This is the deadliest earthquake to have hit the region in over twenty years, and is among the most powerful ever recorded in Turkey.
Both Turkey and Syria were already experiencing economic instability, which this disaster will only further exacerbate. Syria’s twelve-year civil war has left the country devastated, with millions of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries. Turkey is also facing an unprecedented economic crisis with 85% inflation, making it difficult for many of their citizens to pay for basic needs like food & shelter. With vulnerable populations affected and needs outpacing resources, the need for aid is becoming more dire by the day.
Pledge is committed to supporting the vital efforts to help the region recover from this disaster and thanks to our database of over 2+ million nonprofits, you too can help by ensuring your donation dollars go directly to those most in need.
Below are several organizations verified by Pledge that are providing aid and relief to this region as they work to recover from this catastrophic event. We encourage you to either make a donation directly on their nonprofit profile page or create a fundraiser to benefit any one of these organizations:
- Caritas Austria has set-up emergency shelters while providing clean water, food and other essential supplies, along with additional psychological support & trauma treatment for victims.
- Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants is a Turkey-based organization focused on providing humanitarian relief specifically to refugees & asylum seekers, which has deployed a 300-person rescue team to help in search & rescue operations while delivering aid materials to vulnerable earthquake victims.
- International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation has set up relief centers at the epicenter of the disaster in both Turkey & Syria, offering essential supplies such as tents, blankets, and first aid to those in need.
- NuDay is a Syrian-based nonprofit organization that has been on-the-ground evacuating vulnerable women and children while providing emergency gear like winter items, sleeping bags, bedding, shelter support, food, and other life-saving interventions for those that have been displaced.
- Unicef is a global organization whose immediate focus is on ensuring affected children and families have access to safe drinking water and sanitation services, which is critical in preventing illness in the early days of a crisis.
- Save the Children is the world’s leading organization for serving children in need, and has committed to responding swiftly & urgently helping the most vulnerable, providing access to shelter, food, and clothing to children affected by this devastating earthquake.
To explore more organizations like these & make a donation, visit our Explore Nonprofits page or create a fundraiser and help support any of these organizations providing direct relief to those most affected by this devastating crisis in Syria and Turkey.