Singapore to donate $270,000 to Red Cross, UN effort to help quake victims in Turkey and Syria

SINGAPORE - Singapore will donate US$100,000 (S$135,000) each to the Singapore Red Cross and the United Nations Humanitarian Appeal for Syria to help victims of the earthquakes in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria.

The death toll of the

7.8-magnitude earthquake on Feb 6

and subsequent aftershocks has reached 50,000, with thousands more missing. At least six million people have been left homeless after many poorly constructed buildings were reduced to rubble.

“The contributions will support the ongoing humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts in these two countries,” Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

“We hope that these contributions will help the peoples of Turkey and Syria recover from the aftermath of this devastating disaster.”

The UN Humanitarian Appeal for Syria was launched on Feb 14 with a fund of US$397 million, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the money would cover the provision of food, healthcare, shelter and protection for nearly five million Syrians over three months.

Singapore’s contribution comes on top of the

Singapore Red Cross’ own pledge of $1.1 million

for the earthquake victims in both countries. It had also raised more than $3 million from Feb 8 to 13 through its fund-raising appeal, with individuals, companies and schools contributing to the pool.

Other fund-raising efforts include that of Singapore-based charity Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation,

which raised over $1 million in six days

in collaboration with Turkey-based aid organisation Hayrat Yardim.

A campaign by DBS Bank to support the Singapore Red Cross’ relief efforts raised $720,000 in five days.

In the aftermath of the quake, with winter temperatures in the region below freezing, Singaporeans had also turned up in droves at the Turkish Embassy with donations of winter clothes and blankets

following the embassy’s public appeal for such in-kind donations.

The embassy ended that drive

on Feb 9,

calling instead for cash donations, citing the gradually changing needs of the people affected.