Help Turkey together with Darien 7th-graders
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NEW UPDATES 3/7: THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US! We reached our goal of raising $10,000 in 13 days! Darien and our sister towns are small, but have big hearts and global awareness! We have already distributed $5,000 and are focusing now on giving the last half to other families in need. It's been an eye-opening experience for us, especially when we had to choose amongst helping survivors with rent, weekly food, school supplies, or shoes and clothes. All of them are so important and we realized how privileged life we live in our beloved hometown. When we started this, raising $10,000 was beyond our dream, but then actually exceeding that goal, learning about the daily needs of survivors, and allocating the money was a lifetime experience. Thank you for helping us help others in need.
-7th Grade Girls of Darien
See pictures of your donations reaching the neediest.
Hello,
We are a group of 7th-grade girls at Middlesex Middle School hoping to help people who have been devastated by the earthquakes in Turkey. One of our mothers is Turkish and her family lives in Bursa, Turkey. This is very personal for us.
It is difficult to wrap our heads around the need as the death toll has surpassed 50,000 people — that's more than population of our beloved hometown of Darien and New Canaan combined! The earthquake happened in the middle of the night, and we felt this can happen to anyone, to us too. The scale of destruction is awful. These are humans in need.
We may be a small town, but we have big hearts and global awareness!
We have already reached our goal of $10,000, gone on Darien Times, Darien Patch, and NPR radio and are still trying to expand. The immediate local needs are identified and so desperately needed - mostly food, shelter/rent, and supporting kids.
So please join us on this journey to support the people in Turkey.
AREA OF FOCUS:
Our efforts focus on supporting the community of Bursa in Turkey, which is 600 miles away from the epicenter. This is where one of our mothers' family is from and has a strong tie with extended families, community leaders, and local NGOs. Our focal person there is the family’s sister, brother and their partners Figen, Emel, Ersel and Emre. This way, we avoid administrative costs and enables us to maximize the relief efforts. These local heroes and general public at large are using their life-savings (retirement funds, college savings and cutting their weekly grocery budgets) to help the survivors. We are helping these local heroes to help their new neighbors. Figen will update us on expenditure on a weekly basis.
UPDATES 3/1
Your donation is already reaching some of the neediest people in Bursa! Please check our instagram to see the pictures for yourself! https://www.instagram.com/7th_graders_helping_turkey/?hl=en.
Our main local person, Figen, bought and distributed:
- meats from a local butcher to feed 74 survivors for one week at a discounted price ($1,000, that is about $13 per person for one week!)
- 45 food gift cards ($10 per card) to people living in shared apartments.
- school supplies (backpacks, notebooks, water bottles, pencils etc) for 11 newly arrived kids who started in new school on 2/20.
Survivors desperately need:
- access to food on a stable basis (so far, neighbors, families and friends are helping as much as they can, but its not predictable), We want to focus on helping 74 people living in the shelter near Figen;
- help with apt. rental payments-- those living in temporary apts (4-5 families share one apt.) need a roof over their head this winter!
UPDATES 2/20
Schools are reopening on Monday(2/20) throughout Turkey, except for the epicenter and nearby towns where buildings are still unsafe. The rescued children will also join new schools, many of them without parents. Bursa community bought backpacks and books for the newly arrived school children. Many facilities (schools, hotels, warehouses, stores etc.) are converted into temporary shelters for people who have been transferred from the earthquake zone. Many refused to leave the areas with the hope of finding their loved ones (dead or alive). Universities will remain closed (online only) until year-end as dorms are being used as temporary shelters.
UPDATES 2/14
City of Bursa and surounding areas have recevied over 300 children without parents. Temporary housing and host-family program are underway. Also local private schools accepted these displaced children without tuition, including food, till the end of the year.
UPDATES 2/13:
Northwest region community has received nearly 14,000 internally displaced people, many of them children. In addition to securing food, water, clothes, diapers, and medical needs, Bursa community is converting hotels, schools and offices into temporary shelters. Locals are preparing to host displaced people in their homes. As more updates and new images become available, we will update this site.
DONATION OPTIONS:
1) Give through this Go-Fund-Me site
2) Here are a few local NGOs that we recommended. Their sites are mostly in Turkish language.
➤ AFAD: https://lnkd.in/d9tFRsgu
➤ Kızılay: https://lnkd.in/dB4Gt_E7
➤ AHBAP: https://lnkd.in/dRRQuKAB
We are working directly through the family and local organizations to ensure direct impact.
Other Ways to Help:
Want join our next fundraising event? Do you and your friends want to give out fliers in your neighborhood? Please email at [email redacted]. Our instagram is https://www.instagram.com/7th_graders_helping_turkey/?hl=en.
We can share posters, flyers templates, etc. Let’s help together!
Thank you.
Darien 7th-grade girls
Organizer and beneficiary
Mutsumi Shirai
Organizer
Darien, CT
Fitnat Coonan
Beneficiary
