The following is excerpted from the Church Newsroom. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to provide help for those affected by the earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria in the early hours of February 6, 2023. Additional aid has been approved by the Church, including food boxes, hygiene kits and mobile clinics, tents, mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets. The items are being distributed in the areas affected by the natural disaster. So far, the Church is assisting in 18 relief projects for Türkiye and Syria that amount to more than 11.5 million USD.
The Turkish government, through its disaster relief agency AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority), governments of other nations and global relief organizations moved quickly to provide immediate assistance. The main challenge is the survival of the 13 million people who are left without shelter, income, medical care and other necessities of life. Up to two million children have lost one or both parents.
The Church is working to assist many of these people in great need so that they can rebuild their lives, amidst the difficult circumstances. Elder Peter Huber and Sister Carla Huber, a full-time humanitarian missionary couple from Switzerland who are based in Frankfurt, Germany are helping coordinate the relief effort. Before his recent retirement, Elder Huber was one of Switzerland’s leading disaster management experts. He had supervised rigorous, 72-hour computer simulations of massive earthquakes which helped the Swiss government prepare to deal with disaster conditions much like those in Türkiye.
As soon as it was safe, the Hubers travelled to Türkiye to get an accurate assessment of the conditions on the ground and how the Church could supply immediate relief. Based on their evaluation, a few projects were designed and approved by the Church. Upon evaluating the situation and reflecting on the dimension of the problem, Elder Huber stated, “The needs of these people are great. I must think big. I cannot be shy.”
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
