Grassroots fundraising efforts grow for Turkey-Syria quakes

International aid has poured in from governments and organisations across the world in the wake of a series of devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria.

The series of earthquakes, which began with a magnitude 7.8 quake on February 6, has left more than 41,000 dead in Turkey, and more than 5,800 dead in Syria, crumpling cityscapes and leaving millions homeless.

The United Nations is appealing for $1bn in aid for Turkey and nearly $400m for Syria, and grassroots efforts have also sprung up across the world to fill the gap.

Those who have stepped up have included communities already grappling with their own crises.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo-based humanitarian organisation Pomozi.ba posted on their social media that a 91-year-old grandmother – whom they support with daily lunches – had donated the equivalent of $5 to the recovery.

“We don’t even have to say what a difficult health and financial condition she is in, but that didn’t stop her from using her minimal income, from which she can’t even afford everything she needs [to] allocate 10 [convertible marks or $5] for people who experienced a great tragedy,” wrote the group, which has been packing and shipping donated items collected from across the country, including electric heaters, blankets, sleeping bags and clothes.

Rohingya refugees, many of whom live in dire conditions in sprawling camps in southern Bangladesh, have also stepped up to help, with activists saying they had provided 700 blankets to Turkey’s emergency administration (AFAD).

In the wake of the quakes, Ali Johar, a Rohingya human rights activist, tweeted that his mother had sold her “golden bangle that she saved for family emergency” to support Turkey.