Dear Friends

You would have seen the devastating pictures and videos following the earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria earlier this week. As it stands the casualties are in excess of 20,000 lives and are likely to rise further in the coming days to insufferable levels. More than 5,000 buildings are estimated to have been destroyed. More than 12 million people are directly affected. One news agency compared the force of the earthquakes to that of 80 atomic bombs going off.

The heart rendering pictures of folks desperately trying to lift rocks and stones with their bare hands in order to get to trapped people will be engraved in our minds. Thankfully there have been tearful scenes of hope, as search and rescue teams, including from the UK, are saving people, many of whom are children.

No one knows how many more souls are trapped under these rubbles, but inevitably, as the cries for help painfully start to fall silent, the rescue efforts will eventually turn into recovery operations. The survivors, many of whom are injured, are in dire desperation.

As some of you will know, we have family in the region, in the cities of Malatya and Adana. Two of my cousins, who are schoolteachers, have been sheltering with their young children in their cars the last four days, whilst temperatures at night were as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius. Another cousin, who was being treated for a blood clot in his lungs, when the first quake hit, left the hospital, to aid his family and 80-year-old mother. They have been sheltering in a barn the last four days. Sadly, like many other families in the region, we have also lost relatives, some of whom are still trapped under collapsed buildings.

Many of you have reached out in the last few days and ask how you can help. It is difficult to figure out where to start, but in times like these, any help will be immensely cherished.

Thus, we are raising funds to directly help affected communities on the ground. The funds will initially be directed to two local NGO’s – (i) Ahbap and (ii) AKUT, who are currently on the ground.

Ahbap, is led by famous Turkish singer Mr Haluk Levent, who has been working tirelessly on sourcing and delivering aid to the disaster zones. Ahbap imminent focus is to source and deliver:

• Drinking water

• Baby food and dry milk

• Nappies and wipes

• Jackets, pants, shoes and blankets for babies and children

• Blankets and bedding

• Sanitary wipes

AKUT is a voluntary, non-governmental, search and rescue association, which was formed in 1999 by hobby mountaineers, and is on the ground alongside many international search and rescue teams helping to

Thank you for taking the time to read this appeal and for any contribution you can make no matter how big or small, be it via our appeal or any of the other calls for aid. It will be greatly appreciated by the millions affected.