Two fourth-grade Turkish students in Switzerland's canton of Solothurn are selling cakes in an effort to help Türkiye's earthquake victims.
Born and raised in Switzerland, Zümra Melek Calışkan and Nisanur Şahin plan to send their contributions to catastrophe-hit Türkiye via the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
Calışkan and Şahin, both 10 years old, expressed to Anadolu Agency (AA) their sorrow over the Feb. 6 tremors that killed at least 31,000 people.
"I put myself in the victims' place and understood them better," Calışkan said. "I thought about ways to help them and this is the idea I had. At first, I gathered my books and toys to sell. I also wanted adults to help so my mother and I decided to bake cakes."
She said her Swiss customers have appreciated the efforts, and even donated without buying anything.
The little girl said they collected 725 Swiss francs ($784) on the first day, way more than her expectations.
Her cousin, Şahin, said they will keep selling cakes and toys to help Türkiye until their winter break ends next week.
More than 31,600 people were killed and over 80,000 others injured in two powerful earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the latest official figures.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmarşs province, have impacted some 13 million people across 10 Turkish provinces, including Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa.
