Thousands of victims and millions in donations. What is happening on the ground?

At dawn on Monday 6-2-2023, the world woke up to an unprecedented tragedy, the earthquake in Turkey and northern Syria. The casualty figures have skyrocketed, and hundreds of buildings have collapsed. As expected, distress calls grew louder and calls for response followed.

With a cursory glance into the past, we are reminded of the nature of areas of northern Syria. Buildings are fragile and cracked by repeated bombardment for several years, add to it that these areas are crowded with displaced people from different cities, burdened with a harsh memory of siege and fear.

Despite all circumstances, Syrians have developed their way of survival, relying on available resources, equipment of the Syrian Civil Defense Organization, and humanitarian aid from various organizations. We say this to illustrate the extent of grief in these areas without a government and without proper mechanisms for these disasters.

Therefore, the scale of the disaster was enormous, and perhaps that is also why there was great sympathy and many donations. But the question remains: what is Molham team doing with donations nearly 72 hours after the earthquake?

Over the past few hours, we:

- Secured shelters.

- Provided heating materials for those affected.

- Distributed food to those stranded in the streets.

- Distributed food to volunteers and rescue teams.

- Secured generators for the Syrian Civil Defense.

- Equipped vehicles to transport the affected.

- Provided blood units for the injured.

- Contributed to campaigns rescuing those trapped under the rubble.

- Secured the costs of surgeries.

- Distributed cash.

- Provided diesel for hospitals.

 - Delivered medical equipment and medicines to the Directorate of Health.

- Provided emergency baskets for the injured.

- Delivered wheelchairs for the elderly.

- Delivered ambulance stretchers.

- Provided a hotline for immediate response.

- Provided mobile clinics.

- Secured shrouds.

We at Molham Volunteering Team deliver with credibility and transparency and provide donors with detailed statistics. But the numbers are still fluctuating; every second we are dealing with a new calamity that is even worse than the last. Despite all the efforts made, the tragedy remains significant indeed. Syrians are used to bringing in aid from Turkey and so far, we are unable to secure rescue machines because of they are much needed in the affected cities in Turkey.

Therefore, we are forced to act with what we possess at hand to save as many lives as we can. It is always unfortunate that the world forgets disasters in a few days, and Syrians cannot forget this destruction that was once their homes.

In the coming days, we will continue to restore what can be restored, establish new infrastructure, and help affected families financially and medically. We wish the disaster was something light that could be dealt with in a few days, but the coming days seem to be an area of intense action. May God help us handle the tears we will see, the stories we will hear, the wounds that will never heal, and a country that has lost its face and has become stones and graves.