North Texans send emergency relief to Turkey & Syria after another earthquake
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A number of North Texas groups are racing to get more emergency relief to people in Turkey and Syria after another destructive earthquake destroyed buildings and took at least three lives.
Turkish immigrants in North Texas are working non-stop to collect much needed supplies and Texas Baptist Men will send one of its members to the region tomorrow with what may be the most important live saving donation of all.
Esh Selvi has worked 15 hour days for two full weeks, receiving, unboxing and organizing an endless amount of basic necessities with no end in sight.
Selvi says the news of more earthquakes in his homeland of Turkey is heartbreaking because of the astonishing number of people already left homeless by the previous one.
"They're on the street, more than 200,000 people right now, they're living there they try to survive," said Selvi.
Selvi has put his life and business running a furniture warehouse in Garland on hold while he collects relief supplies.
His goodwill unfortunately didn't prevent someone last week from stealing his pickup from the parking lot.
But he's grateful for the response to the urgent calls for help from Turkey and Syria.
There are 111 pallets carrying relief supplies scheduled to be shipped to Turkey on Tuesday.
214 pallets have already been sent. That's enough to fill four cargo planes and all of it is the result of donations from North Texas.
At the nearby headquarters of Texas Baptist Men, the disaster relief organization tomorrow morning will send two water filtration systems to Turkey along with one of its members.
"Somebody who knows what they're doing, a specialist, true specialist who can take the kits we're sending, set them up and get it going and teach others how to do it," said David Hardage with Texas Baptist Men.
Each one costs $3,000 and can provide daily drinking water for up to 25,000 people.
The group, which sent a team to Turkey after a devastating earthquake in 1999, is also boxing up 10,000 blankets, which will go to Syria where surviving earthquake victims there now face the real risk of freezing to death.
"If we can take a blanket and wrap them with some help and some hope that's what we want to do, kind of wrapping our arms around them," said Hardage.
It's support that will be needed for awhile to address a massive humanitarian crisis.
