On February 6, 2023 at 4:17am local time, a massive earthquake struck Turkey with the epicenter being the city of Gaziantep. This is Cengiz's hometown and where most of his family currently resides. One of his sisters lives in Malatya which was heavily damaged and is in very bad shape, but we are so relieved she and her family are safe for now. However, we learned today that some of his cousin's family members were lost when their buildings collapsed. Several were young children. This is an unspeakable tragedy and their challenges are only just beginning.

We are so fortunate that Cengiz's sisters, brothers, brothers in-law, father, nieces and nephews are all safe and were able to leave Antep before the 2nd quake struck for their homes in Burc. They have generously opened their respective houses to dozens of extended family, neighbors and strangers who have lost their homes. They are each sheltering and providing all meals for everyone until they are able to return to Antep. The cost for this will be very high so I'm organizing a drive to help offset some of this cost for them.

Please share any amount you are able to contribute. It's greatly appreciated. We will be sending this money to them as soon as we've met or exceeded our goal. Thank you for opening your hearts to help.

With love,

Nancy