Our fundraising on the Cambridge University website

Cambridge TEV UK Educational Bursary Fund for University Students Affected by the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes

On 6 February, 2023, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.8 and 7.5 took place in the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (officially known as the Republic of Türkiye), which affected many cities in southern Turkey and northern Syria. The Red Cross reports that the earthquakes have directly affected 23 million people in Turkey and Syria. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of the region. The death toll in Turkey and Syria has reached 38,000. According to the UN, this figure is likely to “more than double.” The cities that were affected by the earthquake are mostly in ruins, leaving many of the survivors homeless or having to flee their cities.

In Southern Turkey, the disaster caused considerable damage to 18 universities located in some of the most affected cities: Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Osmaniye, Adana, Adıyaman, Urfa and Kilis. Not only the students who were enrolled at these universities, but also thousands of students who are from this region and study elsewhere in Turkey, have lost their families and homes. As the region tries to recover from the devastating effects of the earthquake in the coming years, these students will not only suffer from the psychological impact of the catastrophe, but they are most likely to experience dramatic financial difficulties due to the loss of their families, homes, and belongings.

As three PhD students from Turkey who study at Cambridge, we believe that members, friends, and alumni of the collegiate university can make a huge difference to their lives by making a financial contribution to a special educational bursary fund for the students in Turkey who have been affected by the earthquakes either directly or through their families. In the long run, we hope that such a bursary fund would not only help these students financially, but would also make a strong statement of solidarity and signal clearly the University’s commitment to the pursuit of education all around the world. Several institutions and academics at the University are already supporting our project, a list of which you can find below.

To directly identify students affected by the earthquake, we are collaborating with the Turkish Education Foundation UK (TEV UK), an independent charity established in the UK to help students from Turkey to access equal opportunities in education. As a secular, non-political and independent organisation, TEV UK is an extension of TEV Turkey, the oldest and biggest educational charity in Turkey founded in 1967 with over 250,000 scholarships. TEV UK is also a partner of the Cambridge Trust through the recently established The Turkish Education Foundation (UK) Cambridge Masters Scholarship.

Donations will be transferred directly to TEV UK to be distributed in Turkey. Any contribution, either through financial donations or spreading the word, would be greatly appreciated.

Contact

Elif Yumru (PhD in History, Newnham), Mehmet Doğar (PhD in History, Selwyn), Zeynep Olgun (PhD in History, Newnham)

earthquakefund2023@gmail.com

Supporting Academics and Members of the University

Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve (former Principal of Newnham College)

Prof. Dame Carol Black (former Principal of Newnham College)

Prof. Ebru Boyar (Academic Advisor at the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, Cambridge alumna, and the Head of the International Relations Department at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey)

Dr. Anna Christie (Director of Studies in Law at Newnham College)

Dr. Zeynep Clulow (Research Associate, Energy Policy Research Group, Judge Business School)

Dr. Camille Cole (Junior Research Fellow at Jesus College and the Faculty of History)

Prof. Aytek Erdil (Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Fellow at King's College)

Dr. Kate Fleet (Director of the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies and Fellow at Newnham College)

Dr. Fernanda Gallo (Associate Professor at the Faculty of History and Fellow at Homerton College)

Eve Lacey (Skilliter Centre Librarian, and Librarian & Fellow at Newnham College)

Roger Mosey (Master of Selwyn College)

Prof. Yael Navaro (Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology and Fellow at Newnham College)

Dr. Jacob Olley (Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, Faculty of Music, and Research Associate, St John’s College)

Dr. Helen Pfeifer (University Associate Professor at the Faculty of History and Fellow at Christ's College)

Alison Rose (Principal of Newnham College)

Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern (Girton College, Cambridge)

Dr. Sheila Watts (Senior Tutor of Newnham College and University Associate Professor at the Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages)