Aquabox for Turkey and Syria

On 6th February 2023 a series of powerful earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, killing over 55,000 people in Turkey alone, and leaving over 1 million homeless. A year on, many thousands are still living in temporary shelters and surrounded by rubble, and the task of rebuilding homes and lives remains huge.

A key need for communities is clean water to sustain life and prevent disease. This month Tenterden Rotary Club - working with Aquabox and fellow Rotarians in the Derbyshire Dales District - have supplied 90 family water filters to aid partners in Turkey. Each of these water filters will meet the daily needs of up to 10 people and will go on working for many months if not years.

The funds for obtaining and shipping the water filters were raised during Tenterden Rotary Club’s 75th Anniversary Celebration concert thanks to our many supporters and local people who attended last September 16th, along with a special grant from Rotary District 1120 and a tremendous donation from our twin club in Cochem-Zell, Germany. In all £3,500 from our event was donated for Turkey & Syria to supply clean water filters. On the back of this donation, Rotarians from Rotary District 1220 topped up the shipment to supply an additional 60 family water filters - raising the total value of the donation to £6,000.

Aquabox has been working closely with charity partners Operation Orphan in Turkey and Syria to ensure the donations reach the communities most in need. Their outreach work means they have steady contact with displaced families, enabling them to monitor needs ensure the water filters are used properly.

Our 75th Anniversary Celebration also raised substantial funds for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Our Tenterden Rotarian, Oksana Romanukha, is in Ukraine at the moment meeting with the International Rotary Club of Lviv to discuss the best way to provide the assistance requested - IFAK packs (Improved First Aid Kits) for use by local schools and public service workers. Just over £4,000 has been raised for this purpose, thanks again to all our supporters and volunteers.

Special thanks are due to Mustafa Deniz of the Ozgur Turkish Restaurant in Tenterden, who supplied the delicious food served up at our fundraising concert! His support was critical to our efforts. The aid to Turkish families resulting from his generosity has been very gratefully received.

Update February 2024