ISTANBUL, TURKIYE April 5, 2023 — Baitulmaal, a Dallas-based international humanitarian nonprofit, recently completed the distribution of a $5.35M medical aid shipment to earthquake-raved Turkiye and northern Syria.
The first two of seventeen containers arrived in Kahramanmaraş the day after a series of deadly earthquakes struck in Turkiye on February 6, 2023. The initial shipments included 200 hospital beds that were used to support doctors, medical technicians and nurses treating the critically injured in the wake of the disaster.
The remaining fifteen containers arrived in Mersin, a port city in Turkiye, and were dispatched to various hospitals and clinics within Turkiye and in northern Syria. Among the recipients were Kocaeli University Research and Application Hospital and Yozgat University Hospital in Turkiye, as well as Idlib National Hospital, Aqrabat Hospital, Noor Hospital for Women and Children as well as smaller clinics in the region.
The shipments included essential items such as medical equipment and devices, hospital beds and triage supplies. Hisham Morgan, operations director at Baitulmaal, oversaw the deliveries in Turkiye.
“The health sectors of both countries were overwhelmed and in dire need of medical supplies after such a large-scale tragedy. Those who survived the quakes were at risk of succumbing to their injuries without ongoing care and adequate resources,” Morgan said. “Thankfully, the shipments arrived in time. The receiving hospitals were very grateful for these donations and expressed their deepest appreciation to Baitulmaal donors.”
On February 6, 2023, a series of powerful earthquakes struck in southern Turkiye and northern Syria, followed by thousands of significant aftershocks including another deadly 6.3 magnitude quake two weeks after the initial 7.8 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes. As of February 22, 2023, the death toll stands at more than 47,000 people across both countries with thousands more injured, missing or displaced.
Baitulmaal has been on the ground in Turkiye and northern Syria mobilizing aid to affected areas. In addition to the $5.35M in medical supplies, Baitulmaal distributed more than 340,000 meals in cities such as Hatay, Gaziantep and Sanliurfa in Turkiye as well as in Idlib in northern Syria. The charity also distributed blankets, tents, clothing, shoes, heaters and firewood to displaced families.
Baitulmaal has been in the region prior to the earthquakes delivering aid. In addition to food and winter relief, Baitulmaal also supports Uyghur and Syrian refugees in Turkiye, oversees hundreds of donor-sponsored orphans, and has reconstructed four schools including a large vocational school in Ras Al-Ayn, Syria. To learn more about or contribute to these efforts, visit johnjanney.org/.
Baitulmaal is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides life-saving, life-sustaining and life-enriching aid to people in need around the world. With headquarters in Texas, the charity has domestic offices in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey as well as international offices in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.
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