Survivors of the devastating earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye last month are still receiving assistance from a Taiwanese charity, Anadolu Agency reported.
The Tzu Chi Foundation’s Türkiye representative, Faysal Hu, told Anadolu Agency that the relief organization was the biggest in Taiwan, with about 11 million members spread across 92 nations.
“The majority of the benefactors are in Taiwan. We are taking to the streets with our 11 million members for the earthquake in Türkiye and we are raising money for the earthquake victims because we want to share the love,” he said.
Tzu Chi offered assistance in Türkiye after the tremors on February 6 for the first time since 1999, when a significant earthquake struck the Golcuk region in the nation’s northwest.
“Türkiye suffered a great disaster on Feb. 6. People lost everything overnight. We need to help our brothers. In the first week of the earthquake, we came to the earthquake zone with a team of 10 people,” Hu said.
“My wife Nadya Chou and I visited Hatay, Kilis, and Gaziantep’s Nurdagi and Islahiye districts. I realized that 40,000 families in these regions should be helped,” he said.
“Shopping cards worth 73 million TL (Turkish liras) (over $3.8 million) were given to nearly 7,000 families, and blankets were also given. There’s $25 million for this emergency. Only 7,000 families were given aid, there are more than 30,000 families ahead of us,” Hu concluded.
Last month, the Taiwanese military also took part in the aid efforts for Türkiye, by transporting in-kind donations for survivors, Focus Taiwan reported.
The Sixth Army Corps is supplying military trucks and people to aid in the transportation of aid from Taipei to Taoyuan International Airport for shipment to Türkiye, according to Major General Shih Shun-wen, a spokesperson for the unit.
The Taiwanese government dispatched 130 searches and rescue personnel, including five dogs, in two separate teams to Turkey shortly after the news of the fatal earthquake first surfaced. The Taiwanese teams spent their entire five-day mission saving two individuals from wrecked buildings. Later, one of the two passed away in a hospital.
The Taiwanese government has also promised to give Türkiye $2 million for post-disaster assistance.
