Devotees from Turkey and Hungary met in Istanbul so that they jointly distribute cooked food for the survivors in the most heavily damaged earthquake-stricken area in Turkey.
With permission from the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the devotees will arrive to Antakya, Hatay province on Sunday, where they will prepare cooked food in a truck converted into a mobile kitchen and they will distribute it locally. The simple, nourishing food will help feed the survivors as well as those participating in the rescue operations. Distribution will take place at a central location designated by the military authorities.
The first response to any natural disaster is to search for survivors and treat the wounded. In the meantime, the emergency infrastructure has to be set up. Looking after the survivors poses a challenge because in the disaster-stricken area, the infrastructure is destroyed, roads are hardly usable and those buildings that are still standing may collapse at any moment. In such a situation, the arrival of professionally equipped, experienced charity teams can be of immense help. They can provide stop gaps by supplying mentally and physically fresh human force and giving tangible help to surviving people. Even though the place is unsafe, helping locally is important because the survivors cannot, or will not, leave the area as they are looking for their missing family members who may be waiting to be rescued under the rubble.
Nandini
