Published: Tuesday 14 February 2023
Staff and Councillors at Kensington and Chelsea Council are supporting the official Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal following a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
As people across the capital begin to donate items and contribute financially, the Council is asking residents and businesses to consider supporting the nationwide appeal or one of the many local appeals that are now underway in the borough.
Cllr Cem Kemahli, Lead Member for Planning, Place, and the Environment, said: “When I was younger I saw the devastation the Istanbul earthquake wrought in 1999.
“I was too young to help, but remember my brothers and their friends going out to help rescue neighbours and work in neighbourhoods that had been reduced to rubble, and I remember the tragic stories they came back with.
“Seeing the early scenes from Gaziantep and Iskenderun, those memories immediately came back; the pain and anguish among my compatriots can now be felt worldwide, heightened now by the speed of social media.”
He added: “As ever, residents and businesses in K&C have been some of the first to recognise the scale and enormity of the tragedy unfolding many miles away and want to do something to help.
“In the same way we saw appeals and support set up for Afghans and Ukrainians in recent years, we have already started to see a number of localised appeals set up, and of course a nationwide effort led by DEC. The Council will support both in any way we can.
“It is impossible to not be moved by the images coming out of the towns and cities impacted. My thanks goes to those organisations and charities who have already mobilised so quickly.”
View the official DEC appeal on their website now, where you can find out more and donate.
If you would like to add a local appeal to this page, please get in touch with the Council’s Communities team via [email protected]