Children in UK sell toys, write letters to quake-victim peers in Türkiye

In the wake of last week's massive earthquakes that left much of southern Türkiye in need of humanitarian aid and shelter, a group of London children has sold their toys and written letters to show their solidarity with their peers in the disaster-hit areas. A Turkish community in London held an event featuring a fundraising campaign and raising awareness on sharing and solidarity over last Monday's deadly earthquakes in Türkiye. During the 'Toy Fundraiser' event, held by the Children's Club of the Islamic Community Milli Gorus (ICMG) in north London, a group of Turkish children sold their toys to help the quake victims. Speaking to Anadolu at the event, Murat Küçük, working as Türkiye's Diyanet staff at the group, said that they held this campaign to encourage children to participate in charity, cooperate, and be kind. Another important goal of the organization is that they would like children to learn that Türkiye is their motherland, underlined Küçük, who has been in London for seven years. Speaking to Anadolu, Sibel Sicimoğulları, head of the group's Children's Club, said that today's organization was an idea of children. She said they first wanted to send their toys, adding that sending toys from the UK to Türkiye could be difficult. Then, Sicimoğulları said they had talked with children about what they could do for quake-hit children in Türkiye. She went on to say that as Children's Club, they also decided to tell their feelings and send them to children in Türkiye to show solidarity with their 'brothers and sisters.' Children were also responsible for the organization as they are always asked to take responsibility, she added. The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaraş province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces.