Hi, my name is Rena and I've worked in humanitarian aid since 2012. Today I am asking you to help me help my good colleague, my mentee, my friend and his family who have been devastated by the earthquake in Turkey. His name is Hakan Akgun and ironically, he himself has worked in international humanitarian aid for over a decade - fearlessly and lovingly helping people around the world in Iraq, Jordan, Nigeria, Sudan, Syria and more - and now he needs our help - yours and mine. He is an incredibly good-hearted human being and has been supporting 6 brothers, sisters, their families and their children, as well as his beloved mother. He recently invested his savings into a beautiful home for his family in Gaziantep. Now, he spent the last 5 days and nights sleeping in a car with 11+ family members - including his nieces and nephews who are aged 5, 2, and another who is just a year old! The children have been freezing and are starting to get sick. Yesterday, they secured a tent and his heretofore vibrant niece is in the photo you see taken today.

I know it is crushing for you to watch the impossible-to-comprehend devastation in Turkey and Syria, especially from the comfort of our cushy lives, wishing we could somehow help and know that help is going where it needs to. This is your chance. Please be generous and imagine what you would hope someone gives if your world was destroyed overnight, and you went from a warm bed to the streets, in 90 seconds, avoiding looters with guns and huddling with your children for warmth. This is what my dear friend Hakan is facing.

Please give like you are giving to the "you" that would be, if you ever face an environmental disaster that wipes out your home, your life, your safety. Hakan and his family will put it to good use and then he will pivot to helping others and paying it forward, like the humanitarian he is and you will be a part of that.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.