9-yr-old boy, who survived earthquake last year, donates entire piggy bank savings to Turkey quake relief
1 min read . Updated: 07 Feb 2023, 10:48 PM IST
PremiumAlparslan Efe Demir was heartbroken when he saw the visuals on television and later told his mother that he wants to pledge his piggy bank savings towards the relief work
A 9-year-old Turkish boy, who survived an earthquake only last November, donated his entire piggy bank savings towards the relief work for Monday's Turkey-Syria quake that killed over 5,400 people, left tens of thousands injured and turned cities into rubble.
Alparslan Efe Demir was heartbroken when he saw the visuals on television and later told his mother that he wants to pledge his piggy bank savings towards the relief work. They then visited the Duzce branch of the Turkish Red Crescent and handed over his pocket money to the authorities.
“I was very scared when there was an earthquake in Duzce. I had the same fear when I heard about the earthquake in many of our cities. That is why I decided to send the pocket money given by my elders to the children there," he said.
“It is okay if I do not buy chocolate here. Children there should not be cold or hungry. I will send my clothes and toys to the children there," he said in his emotional letter.
Demir was forced live in an earthquake relief camp for a few days when a magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit the northwestern Duzce province in November.
Monday’s pre-dawn 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by multiple aftershocks, caused widespread destruction across southern Turkey and northern Syria.
The death toll in Turkey had risen to 3,549 people, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday as he declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces. "We have decided to declare a state of emergency to ensure that operations are carried out rapidly," President Tayyip Erdogan said in his second speech since the first quake hit early on Monday. The state of emergency have been declared for 9 months.
In Syria, the toll stood at just over 1,700, with tens of thousands injured or left homeless in several Turkish and Syrian cities.
Turkish authorities say more than 12,000 search and rescue personnel are working in the affected areas, plus another 9,000 troops.
