BORDERLAND Rotary Club in Oswestry respond to the Turkey, Syria earthquake with a donation of £1000 to an international disaster relief charity.

On Monday, February 6, an earthquake struck southern and central Turkey, and northern and western Syria.

The earthquake reached a 7.8 magnitude, and was followed by another 7.5 one soon afterwards and over 60 aftershocks. At least 33,000 people died, with millions more thought to have been affected in what has been described as a "humanitarian disaster".

ShelterBox is based in Cornwall and is an innovative charity that provides physical help to the heart of a disaster area, and has put together kits to help the communities. 

Cathy Osselton, chair of the international committee at Borderland said as soon as they saw the news on TV, Borderland Rotary came together and talked about helping.

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She said: "You can’t help but be moved by the tragic scenes that have been on our TVs in the last few days and we at Borderland Rotary immediately responded and discussed the best way we could help and, as Rotary has been involved with ShelterBox for many years, it was decided that this would be the quickest and most effective use of the donation because they already have people in the area."

Shelterbox has been supported by the Rotary Club since its inception in 2000.

Typical the large green ShelterBox contains tents as temporary shelter, water filters, water carriers, solar lights, cooking sets, blankets and mats and even a children’s activity pack.

All the items are packet in the sturdy green box and distributed by the ShelterBox Response Teams directly to the people on the ground who are in distress.

Border Counties Advertizer: ShelterBox contentsShelterBox contents (Image: Borderland Rotary Club)

The aid is tailored to the nature of each individual disaster so items supplied may vary.

Cathy added: "We will monitor the situation as it develops and consider ways of further helping and if anybody would like to help in anyway, please contact us."

Currently the number of deaths has reached 30,000, with over 70,000 injured.

As rescue teams continue to search the ruins of the buildings that have been destroyed, the death toll is sadly still rising. 

The best way to reach Borderland Rotary is to contact them at president@borderlandrotary.org.

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