Bradford event raises nearly £8k for Turkey-Syria earthquake victims

An estimated 120 people joined forces in Lister Park on Sunday to support those affected by the disaster, which has now claimed over 46,000 lives.

The walk was jointly organised by local organisation Happy Healthy You – which aims to get people across the district fit and active – Ofsted-registered learning centre Raising Explorers and charity Human Appeal.

Around £1,000 was raised on the day, while another £6,693 and counting has been donated via an online link so far.

“The walk went really well. We had stalls, face painters and some drumming, all to raise more awareness and money for the people of Turkey and Syria,” said Humera Khan, founder of Happy Healthy You.

“Aweis Asghar, of Raising Explorers, agreed that what motivated us to do this was what we’ve been seeing in those counties – it’s unbelievable.

“I think it’s the worst thing we’ve seen in a long time. The amount of people dead and injured is devastating.

“It’s going to take a long time for people to recover. These people already didn’t have a lot to begin with. We should all do our best to support them.”

Humera added that, although victims in both countries are in desperate need of help, those in Syria may face additional barriers.

“Unfortunately, a lot of aid wasn’t going to Syria because of the restrictions in place, due to the war,” she said.

“We saw people in Syria having to dig people out of the rubble with their bare hands in harsh weather conditions, while Turkey had heavy machinery and more support – which probably saved a lot more lives – but it felt like Syria was alone.

“Human Appeal was already working in Syria, because of the war, so that allowed us to get funds to the people there a lot quicker.”

Humera is hoping that people do not forget about the situation, and that more organisations can come together to support the relief efforts.

“They’re facing a harsh winter there, and they really need support. We need to be behind them,” she said.

“If we were in that situation and saw people on the other side of the world showing sympathy and support, it might make things a bit easier to deal with.”

“We need to be united and do whatever we can to help, that’s what humankind is about.”