In the early hours of Monday morning, an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude struck south east Turkiye and northern Syria. Families were shaken from their sleep only to awaken to a nightmare. 

In the space of just two minutes, entire cities were brought down, multi-story buildings flattened and heartbreakingly, thousands of families were unable to escape before their homes were brought down upon them. 

Two weeks on, the death toll has passed 40,000.

6th Cranbrook An-Nahl are planning a 7.8km hike on Sunday the 26th of February to raise funds for Turkiye and Syria.

7.8km is symbolic of the severity of the first quake to hit the region, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale.

We are doing this in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in humanity who have faced the most unimaginable terror and loss.

Some of you may be feeling the effects of charity fatigue; questioning the significance of any additional donations. However, for the victims of this disaster, the nightmare continues. 

And for the aid agencies on the ground, the work continues. 

Islamic Relief have been in both countries for more than 10 years, and they will remain with the people of Turkiye and Syria, long after the world media packs up their cameras and the news cycle moves on to more ‘newsworthy’ headlines. 

They will continue working through the short term emergency interventions to the longer term solutions: preventing the spread of disease due to lack of sanitation and decaying bodies, rebuilding homes and infrastructure, and enabling the medical treatment and psycho-social rehabilitation of survivors.

We urge you to dig deep and support our Beavers and Cubs who are committed to raising money to help those in need. Help them to fulfil this intention to the best of their ability.

Even if you have already donated, dig deep, and donate again, and again, and again - as many times as you would want people to support you if you were in their position. 

Please also share this link far and wide with your own contacts. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like one who did it.”

Thank you for your support!

Keep the people of Turkiye and Syria in your prayers.