When Cooper Middle School student Azra Topo first heard about the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last month, she didn’t give it a lot of thought.
Topo lived in Turkey for eight years, and acknowledged that earthquakes happen there often. But then, a friend shared a post on social media, explaining several family members were lost in the rubble. Sixteen of the friend’s family members died in the earthquake that led to over 48,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria.
Topo approached Principal Lisa Barrow about how the Fairfax County, Virginia, school community may be able to help. What followed was a the student-led push to collect supplies such as blankets and sleeping bags and donations to support recovery efforts that has resulted in thousands of donations and contributions.
“When I learned that thousands were killed or became homeless in an instant, and that the winter conditions are very harsh for the survivors, I felt like I should do something about this,” said Samuel Shi, representing the Cooper Student Council Association. “I reached out to all my (student government) teachers to start this project. We received lots of support from our peers, our teachers and our principal and superintendent.”
The initiative hit home for Topo, who said she knew some of the areas that were damaged. Her family in Istanbul was concerned, but wasn’t impacted. They are, though, expecting another earthquake to reach Istanbul.
Kaan Ramazanogullari felt similarly. He saw Fairfax County rescue teams pulling people out of the rubble in Turkey, and his great-aunt was among them.
“I’m very happy that she was actually able to be one of the survivors,” Ramazanogullari said.
Still, she suffered a broken shoulder and needed prompt care, so she was sent to Istanbul.
“Basically, the whole building collapsed — it all fell apart,” Ramazanogullari said. “It’s also a really sad moment for her.”
He started collecting things like bottles, blankets, tents and sleeping supplies that could be shipped to Turkey.
Olivia and Christiane Harsh, meanwhile, collected and delivered 40 to 50 boxes worth of donations to the Turkish embassy. Their mom’s workplace also offered a matching program, which resulted in $46,000 worth of donations.
“A lot of people are focusing on the physical damages, but there’s also so much emotion that’s going through there, because families have been separated,” Christiane said. “No one can understand that.”
In addition to donations, students have also planned school events, with proceeds being donated toward relief efforts. They held a student vs. teacher volleyball game last week, and are hosting movie nights next week.
Hamza Zanbrakji, who is from Syria, said his family members weren’t impacted by the earthquake, but “there’s still hundreds of thousands of people being affected in different places, other than where I’m from. So, because of this, I wanted to do anything in my power to help.”
Attila Avni has family in parts of Turkey and said, “I really want to help anyone who is impacted by this earthquake by getting them supplies they need to survive, and also to rebuild.”
