Türkiye's new campaign for earthquake victims, named "Türkiye One Heart" (''Türkiye Tek Yürek'') raised over TL 115.1 billion ($6.1 billion), as many Turkish television and radio stations joined forces late Wednesday to hold an aid drive to help the survivors of last week's devastating earthquakes.
A joint broadcast hosted by eight national TV channels, including ATV – a TV station owned by Turkuvaz Media Group – was live-streamed on more than 200 Turkish and international channels and over 500 radio stations from the country and abroad.
Millions of people, including children, adults, corporations, religious minorities, organizations and labor unions in Türkiye and several other countries, joined a massive fundraising campaign to heal the wounds of dozens of thousands of earthquake survivors.
Moderated by TV personalities Nihat Hatipoğlu, Pelin Çift, former model Çağla Şikel, media mogul Acun Ilıcalı and others, the fundraiser was held live for seven hours.
At the same time, more than 9 million SMS were sent through the country's telecom operators for the campaign.
The donors included children, soldiers, diplomats, CEOs of large corporations and more, who pledged to make donations to Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay).
Actors, renowned TV personalities Barış Arduç, Berk Oktay, Burak Özçivit, Hande Erçel, Engin Akyürek, Esra Erol, Afra Saraçoğlu, Burak Deniz, Alp Navruz, Aslı Enver, Merve Dizdar, Barış Falay, Selahattin Paşalı, Özge Özpirinçci, Uğur Güneş, Murat Yıldırım, Mehmet Özgür, Birkan Sokullu, Eda Ece, Melisa Aslı Pamuk, Ismail Hacıoğlu, Kadir Doğulu and his wife Neslihan Atagül Doğulu, Seda Sayan, Hasan Can Kaya , Aras Bulut Iynemli, Ezgi Mola and Halit Ergenç were among famous names answering the phone calls set up for donations.
In the second part of the broadcast, names such Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, Murat Boz, Ebru Gündeş, Erkan Petekkaya, Engin Altan Düzyatan, Serenay Sarıkaya, Esra Ketenci, Sümeyye Aydoğan, Hilal Anay, Mert Ramazan Demir, Kaan Urgancıoğlu and Pınar Deniz also answered the calls to support the campaign.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) made the highest donation worth TL 30 billion, followed by state-run lenders Ziraat with TL 20 billion, Vakif with TL12 billion and Halkbank with TL 7 billion.
The country's GSM operators Turkcell and Turk Telekom donated TL 3.5 billion and TL 2 billion, respectively.
Turkish conglomerates Cengiz Holding and Kalyon Holding donated TL 2.5 billion and TL 950 million, respectively.
Türkiye's Saving Deposit Insurance Fund, Borsa Istanbul and Türkiye Sigorta donated TL 2 billion each.
The country's defense firm Baykar and flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) donated TL 2 billion each.
Among the vast number of companies whose officials gave information about the help they provided by connecting to the live broadcast by phone, organizations such Altur Turizm, the Ekşioğlu Foundation, the United Brands Association, Sunny Atmaca Elektronik, Belbeton AŞ, Kutlu Holding, Özyurtlar Holding, Tudors, the Orkun Group, Kaltun Madencilik, the Kent Group, Abay Holding, SC Group Cosmetics, Bonna Porcelain, Gülle Tekstil, Güzel Metal Industry, Assu, Armada İnşaat, Çelenlioğlu Gıda, the Özyapıcılar Group, Çağ Un ve Çağ Taşıt, the Istanbul Sports Shoemakers Association, NN Group and the World Trade Center also donated funds.
Joining the live broadcast in a call, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he has full faith that the campaign would collect an unprecedented amount of donations from the people, which will show their big hearts. He also said that all the funds raised in the campaign would be spent solely on earthquake survivors.
Stating that they immediately initiated the works for the removal of debris and the reestablishment of the cities, Erdoğan said that they plan to start the construction by laying the foundations of 30,000 houses in the places where the preliminary works would be completed as of the beginning of March.
"Our aim is to start delivering houses where our people can live safely and peacefully in place of every demolished building within a year. I hope we will overcome this test together," he said.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar and Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop also joined the campaign via phone calls stating they would donate three or two of their monthly salaries for the campaign.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a message of solidarity Wednesday to Türkiye's new campaign for earthquake victims.
The U.N. chief started his video message with greetings in Turkish, saying "Dear Friends," or "Sevgili Dostlar," expressing his "deepest condolences and profound solidarity" with the people of Türkiye, who are facing "one of the biggest natural disasters of all time."
"You are not alone," he stressed. "The United Nations is with you, and we have been racing to assist."
"When I see the images of the suffering and destruction, I see people and places I know well," he said, recalling his past visits to the earthquake-hit areas many times as a commissioner for refugees.
"I will never forget the warmth and generosity of the people I've met," he said, noting that Türkiye is home to the largest number of refugees in the world and praising the Turkish people's "generosity to their Syrian neighbors."
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who also joined the campaign through the phone call, stated that they have not forgotten what Türkiye and Erdogan did for them after the 2019 earthquake and announced that they were donating 1 million euros ($1.07 million) to the "Türkiye One Heart" aid campaign on behalf of the Albanian people.
Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan donated a total of 4.62 million soms (around $55,000), which makes up the one-day earnings of their salaries. National television channels in Kyrgyzstan also contributed to the joint live broadcast.
World Meskhetian Turks Union President Ziyatdin Kassanov announced that they supported the campaign with $1 million.
The support from the sports community was showcased through personal and association-based donations, with managers and players on the football fields reaching out.
Mehmet Büyükekşi, the president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), made an announcement during a broadcast that he would be donating TL 1 million from his own pocket, while stating that as the TFF, they donated TL 20 million on the first day of the earthquake.
"We have amassed an impressive TL 50 million through the collective efforts of our clubs and are now working toward constructing a container city. Our amateur football players have been incredibly generous, donating a remarkable TL 200,000 collected among themselves. Additionally, we have dispatched 10 trucks full of supplies, and I am donating TL 1 million of my own," Büyükekşi said.
The presidents of the Süper Lig's "Big 4" clubs – Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor – participated in a joint live broadcast to lend their support to a vital aid campaign as well.
Among the personalities from the Turkish art scene, Beyazıt Öztürk was also among those who joined via phone call, expressing his condolences and making a donation on behalf of his family.
The artist Ibrahim Tatlıses, who called Hülya Avşar on the phone, also donated on behalf of his children.
The founder of the voluntary network Ahbap Association, artist Haluk Levent, also took part in the campaign through a donation of TL 500,000.
Many inspiring donations and solidarity messages came solely from the citizens of the "Türkiye One Heart" campaign, including an 11-year-old girl named Rumeysa Incedağ who donated TL100,000, money her mother had saved for her since the day she was born, to heal the wounds of earthquake victims.
Farmer Orhan Koçak from Konya donated his entire savings of TL 40,000.
