Local collection point for Turkey and Syria earthquake victims Post Reply

[Community Editor]

The devastating earthquake which hit Turkey and Syria earlier this week has left many of us wondering what we can do to help, as the death toll sadly keeps on rising and those that have survived have been left with nothing.

BeWYLD café on Streatham High Road will be a collection point from tomorrow for anyone wishing to donate towels, blankets and clothing for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey & Syria. The café is located close to Streatham Hill Station.

Do post if you know of other collection points in the local area.

[sandman]

This is a heartwarming idea -
But as someone who has worked in humanitarian response in the past, please consider giving *money* to trusted agencies who are already working on the ground, rather than “stuff”.
They will know what is needed right now for the people right there, and can use your donation to buy it.
Donations of clothes, blankets, food etc actually can make things more difficult as they take up aid workers precious time to sort and distribute and they take up valuable storage space (and as we saw in Ukraine, the trucks of donations can even end up clogging the roads and border crossings so that essential aid can’t get through)!
The DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) is a group of the main U.K. aid charities who raise funds together for major disasters - you can check them out here:
https://www.dec.org.uk/

Thank you all for your generosity!

[dimelda]

Everyone reading this post should heed the advice given by 'Sandman'.  Over the years, when disasters have struck, people have been repeatedly advised not to give clothing, blankets etc. for the very reasons Sandman has quoted, but instead to donate to the UK charities who raise funds for global disasters.  Nobody seems to listen.  The cafe referred to in Streatham might be making an admirable gesture in offering itself as a collection point for clothes & bedding items but it, too, should be advised it's not a particularly good idea & could be a wasted exercise.

[Mivana]

I agree with ”sandman” and “dimelda” that though a very kind thought of the BeWYLD café, donating money to the many well known charities (I donated to DEC) is a better alternative.
They are used to deal with these kind of utterly tragic circumstances, so know what is most urgently required, where to get these items and how to deliver them to the needed locations/people. . . 
On top of what has already been mentioned, the cost and logistics of getting any collected items from the UK to the affected regions also out-ways the benefits, without doubt. . . ,

[Starr]

https://www.whitehelmets.org/en/

I've donated to help Syrians where the situation is dire as the victims are also under attack by Assad. I would like recommendations for Turkey.
Agree about the collections of clothes etc at cafes due to logistics. These are better off for refugees and asylum seekers. Lots of charities around which will distribute directly.

[dirik]

I concur with "Sandman" and "Dimelda" that while the BeWYLD café's gesture of kindness is commendable, it would be more beneficial to donate funds to established charities.

 

Turkey Mozaik Foundation is an organisation I know and trust that started an emergency relief fundraising campaign for the earthquake disaster and has already raised more than GBP 2 million in two weeks from over 14,000 supporters as well as more than 200 individual and team fundraising initiatives supporting their campaign. The campaign was recently featured on BBC News and SkyNews.

 

They have already started disseminating funds to carefully selected charities on the ground based on an emergency needs assessment conducted by trusted local partners. For more details on how the funds are distributed please visit the campaign page and please find here all the information & documents and the most recent FAQs.

 

Please see below the Mozaik foundation emergency fund link, if you wish to donate to help

 

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/kah ... earthquake