Estonian NGO Mondo supports Turkey and Syria in their humanitarian crisis

On 6 February, Turkey and Syria were hit with earthquakes that have claimed tens of thousands of lives and will affect millions more; the Estonian NGO, Mondo, is collecting donations to alleviate the humanitarian crisis caused by the earthquake and to aid people affected by it.

“The situation in Turkey and Syria is very difficult. Areas that were hit the hardest have already suffered from war and forced migration, so today’s devastation is even more amplified. Rescue work is very difficult, as in some cities even half of the buildings have been destroyed,” Mondos’s Middle East expert, Kristi Ockba, said in a statement.

“In addition, it is winter in the region and people have lost their homes. Hundreds of thousands need shelter, warm clothes, food, medicine – absolutely everything. Currently, the focus is on saving human lives from the rubble, but more and more we must start helping the survivors.”

Mondo is supporting those in need in Turkey and Syria with the collected donations, together with its long-term partners Small Projects Istanbul in Turkey and Finn Church Aid in Syria.

“The needs in the region are huge, and the help hasn’t reached everywhere. This applies to both Turkey and Syria, where the delivery of humanitarian aid is significantly hampered by political relations, as well as by severely damaged infrastructure,” Triinu Ossinovski, a board member of Mondo, added.

Helping deliver food, shelter, warm clothes and hygiene items

“This week has been also very cold in the region, which requires an urgent response. In recent years, our partner FCA has developed a reliable network in Syria and they have access to areas where aid has not yet reached.”

The wreckage of a collapsed building in Diyarbakır, Turkey. Photo by VOA, public domain.

The NGO is using donations according to what is most needed in the region at the moment – from food to shelter, warm clothes and essential hygiene items.

Mondo has supported the livelihood of Syrian refugee women in Turkey and Syria and the availability of quality education for children. It has been working in humanitarian crises for almost 15 years as a provider of urgent aid in cooperation with local partners.

Mondo is an Estonian organisation aiming to reduce global inequality. It operates in 12 countries abroad and in Estonia and focuses on education, health, subsistence, environmental and digital competence programmes in partner countries, and global education in Estonia.

People who wish to donate to help the victims of the earthquake can do so by making a transfer to NGO Mondo, SEB Bank, IBAN: EE491010220099409013, with the explanation “Maavärin” or via PayPal.

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