A group from the Azerbaijan Volunteers has rolled its sleeves to help tackle several dimensions of the recent earthquake in Türkiye as the country grapples with the aftermath of the disaster and is shifting from rescue efforts to responding to the needs of survivors.
Heading the Azerbaijan Volunteers, Ulvi Adigozalov told Daily Sabah that Azerbaijan immediately offered its support to Türkiye after the devastating earthquakes.
“Besides the support campaigns implemented by the Azerbaijani state, every representative of the country's youth and youth nongovernmental organizations shows their support by participating in aid campaigns,” he highlighted.
Adigozalov said that the group came with 100 volunteers on Feb.10 and is still operating in Kahramanmaraş province, the epicenter of the earthquake.
He said that the young volunteers are taking part in the provision and installment of tents, the building of tent camps, the sorting out of food materials, their packaging and distribution.
However, besides the technical efforts, the Azerbaijan Volunteers also strive to address the aftermath of the quake and its effect on the disaster victims by giving psychological support to children in tents set up as play spaces.
“In the distribution centers located in different parts of the city, they actively participate in establishing charging centers for phones of the local people, in the distribution of food, in the arrangement of lines, in the determination of needs, in the collection of waste products and in meeting other necessary needs,” Adigozalov pointed out.
The Azerbaijan Volunteers, which are part of the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation, are also cooperating with the Türkiye Youth Foundation (TÜGVA). The volunteers with professional medical experience serve in the mobile pharmacies of the TÜGVA.
Adigozalov elaborated that the group of 100 will be divided into three to also address humanitarian efforts in Adıyaman and Malatya provinces.
At least 41,020 people have been killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southeastern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said Sunday.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaraş and struck 10 other provinces, namely Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazığ and Şanlıurfa.
Over 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.
Aerial footage from over the earthquake zone in Türkiye revealed entire neighborhoods of highrises reduced to twisted metal, pulverized concrete and exposed wires.
International support, including significant support from Azerbaijan, has poured into Türkiye.
At least 725 rescue personnel from Azerbaijan have traveled to Türkiye's Kahramanmaraş region, along with a range of relief equipment and supplies.
