Imagine you’re a 17-year-old high school student, and you’ve left your family and your homeland in order to study 5,500 miles away from all that you know. An adventure of a lifetime. Then imagine your home country is struck with the worst earthquake in more than 100 years, and you’re not there to help.
Such is the case for Sila Özbayrak. Sila (pronounced SihLAH) is a foreign exchange student from Istanbul. She has been living with the Kevin and Krystal Vierkant family near Beaver Lake (north of Kimball) for this school year.
A 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey (now known as Türkiye) and northern Syria at 4:17 a.m. local time Monday, Feb. 6, while most people there were asleep in their beds. A strong 7.5 aftershock struck just nine hours later. More than 300 other aftershocks have shaken the area since then, making rescue very dangerous.
Sila’s family is in Istanbul in western Turkey which was not directly affected by the quakes. But she has friends in the earthquake area.
One of the girls in her group this year of 49 exchange students from Turkey learned that her mother had died in the quake, and that her father and brother were still under the rubble. It took a great effort, but Sila’s colleague was able to return to Turkey to mourn the loss of her family.
Sila’s family in Istanbul, like so many others throughout Turkey and nearby areas, immediately gathered clothing and blankets – including Sila’s baby blanket – to send to the afflicted area. “The Turkish people are trying their best to help,” Sila explains.
Keep in mind that it is bitterly cold there now, so being homeless is in itself life-threatening. More than 300,000 people have been displaced by the quakes, and they could remain homeless for many months to come.
Various agencies are on the ground, providing rescue and now recovery assistance, feeding both victims and volunteers, assisting victims with medical needs, and more.
Sila and her fellow exchange students from Turkey wanted to help from here and her group, YES – Youth Exchange & Study, started a GoFundMe site for donations that will go directly to victims in Turkey. That URL is gofund.me/b437c566.
“All of the donations made to the GoFundMe page … are going directly to the non-profit organization we are working in partnership with,” Sila says. Donations are tax-deductible, she adds.
“Even a single dollar has the purchasing power to get five loaves of bread or six bottles of water,” Sila pleads. “So all efforts are greatly appreciated, no matter the size of the donation.”
If you would prefer, there are time-tested organizations who are in Turkey and Syria helping. These include World Central Kitchen, Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross/Red Crescent, CARE, UNICEF, Save the Children, and many more. Your church affiliation may have its own relief organizations as well.
While thoughts and prayers are helpful, cash donations to the organizations making a difference in that area are critical, especially now. The need is immediate.