From CT Insider: How to donate to Turkey, Syria earthquake relief efforts from CT

[Lee Cruz]

Source including list of organizations through which you can donate: Connecticut insider

Abby Weiss

Updated: Feb. 6, 2023 5:08 p.m.

Emergency teams search through the rubble for people in a destroyed building in Adana, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared.Khalil Hamra/AP

More than 3,400 people have died after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated Turkey and Syria early Monday. 

The earthquake, one of the region’s strongest in over 100 years, has left mounds of wreckage and thousands injured, as rescue efforts go underway amid a winter storm. Strong aftershocks were felt throughout the region hours after the first earthquake, reaching as far as Northeast Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.  

The United States is sending immediate assistance to Turkey and many NGOs are rushing to civilians’ aid in both countries. Here are relief organizations to donate to from Connecticut.

Americares

The emergency response team at Americares, a global health and disaster relief nonprofit based in Stamford, is working with partner organizations to address civilians' health needs in both countries. 

The nonprofit delivers medicine and humanitarian aid to health providers in affected communities. 

Swasia Charity Foundation

Swasia, a group of Syrian-American small business owners in Connecticut and New Jersey, is aiding civilians impacted in Northern Syria.

That aid includes food baskets, cooked meals, blankets, heating supplies, medical supplies and other necessities.

Save the Children

Members of Save the Children, an international humanitarian organization that has headquarters in Fairfield, are working with partner organizations in Northwest Syria to analyze the scale of the damage and assist children, according to a news release.

In Turkey, the organization has established a response team that is coordinating with the government and major stakeholders to aid civilians. Team members are also planning to provide emergency kits with blankets and winter clothing.

Click here to donate the Children's Emergency Fund.

UNICEF

UNICEF members are on the ground in Syria providing emergency assistance families in the region and is helping children reunite with their families, according to its website. The field office teams are also assessing damage to water facilities and are providing water to displaced families.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

The organization has donated medical supplies and sent medical staff to 23 health facilities in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces in Syria, according to its website. MSF has also donated blankets and life kits to displaced families and is coordinating with authorities in Northwest Syria and southern Turkey. Click here to donate.

Syrian American Medical Society 

The Syrian American Medical Society is providing medical assistance to affected areas and is calling for more aid and response teams for its overwhelmed hospitals, according to a press release. SAMS is working with healthcare partners and humanitarian organizations to coordinate relief efforts. 

Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM)

The organization, which has provided healthcare and medical assistance to civilians impacted by the war in Syria since 2012, has issued an urgent call for emergency funds to support rescue efforts.

"UOSSM hospitals and medical facilities are overwhelmed and will need support to ensure lives are saved during this crisis. Countless families became homeless yet again and are in desperate need of shelter, medical aid, food, and sources for heat," officials said in a press release.

CARE International

The social justice organization is delivering essential items to people affected by the earthquake. CARE Türkiye is responding to affect areas in Northwest Syria, where teams are delivering blankets, food, tents and other items to people in need, according to its website.  

Turkish and Syrian Red Crescent

The Turkish Red Crescent staff members and volunteers are providing meals to civilians and first responders as well as providing psychosocial support and blood donations, according to a release from the American Red Cross.

The Syrian Red Crescent teams are sending first aid and are performing emergency medical evaluations. T

The White Helmets

The team of volunteers has declared a state of emergency in Northwest Syria and is calling for immediate aid from authorities and humanitarian organizations. Click here to make a donation.

International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation 

The organization is helping authorities with emergency rescue efforts in the Turkish cities of Kilis, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras and Sanlıurfa. IBC is calling for donations of tents, heaters, blankets, clothes, cooked meals and first aid kits. 

Written By

Abby Weiss

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Abby Weiss is a Connecticut native and a features reporter at Hearst Connecticut Media. She graduated with a B.S. in journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in 2022. She has written for InsideClimate News, The New York Post and Callaway Climate Insights.

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