Typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda as it is locally known, struck the Philippines with unprecedented ferocity in the early morning hours of Friday, November 8. With winds of up to 160 mph, water surges up to 23 feet and infrastructure little equipped to handle such conditions, parts of the country were left in devastation. An estimated 10,000 people have lost their lives, in addition to over 120,000 people who have been displaced and 850,000 who are in desperate need of basic items like food and clean drinking water. The city of Tacloban was the most severely affected part of the country.
Two relief organizations affiliated with the Hizmet movement, hizmet being the Turkish word for “service,” have reached out to assist the Philippines during this time of awesome tragedy and need. They include Hizmet Relief and Kimse Yok Mu.
Previously referred to as the Helping Hands Relief Foundation, Hizmet Relief is a non-profit organization that brings together teams of volunteers to collaborate on local aid and disaster relief efforts. These teams provide support services that offer financial, emotional and material assistance to families and communities in need in the wake of major disasters. Headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, the organization delivers and distributes supplies and resources to impacted families, individuals and institutions.
The mission of Hizmet Relief is to “coordinate and provide the necessities and sustenance that disadvantaged and disaster-stricken individuals would otherwise have little to no other means to obtain, such as food, housing, education, skill training, counseling, clothing, school supplies, etc.” At the core of the work of Hizmet Relief is ensuring trust, compassion, mutual respect and equal partnerships of community service providers in the communities in which they serve. For this reason, the objective of Hizmet Relief is to provide aid and other such services both domestically and internationally and regardless of ethnicity, race or creed.
Hizmet Relief is currently collecting donations that will be used for relief efforts in the Philippines.
The second Hizmet-affiliated relief organization is Kimse Yok Mu, which translates to, “Is anybody there?” Kimse Yok Mu is an international humanitarian and relief organization that operates globally and sponsors projects in healthcare, building wells and cataract surgeries. The mission of Kimse Yok Mu is to fight poverty, protect innocent people in war-torn areas, and work to eliminate social inequalities; encourage society to be more compassionate and engaged with the notion of ‘humanitarian aid’; and to provide services to people of all races, ages, religions and social statuses.
The organization’s unique name was inspired, sadly, from the devastating earthquake of August 1999 in Turkey. Those who remain trapped under the rubble of wrecked buildings and structures could be heard shouting out, “Is anybody there?”
Kimse Yok Mu is currently on the ground in the Philippines. According to an article in Today’s Zaman, Kimse Yok Mu has been able to reach critical areas of need with military helicopters through a 10-person medical team. They began search and rescue activities the day after the typhoon made landfall and distributed 25 tons of food packages to 6,500 victims in cooperation with Philippine officials.
The Turkic American Alliance commends such relief efforts, in addition to the countless others working towards restoring a sense of humanity in the Philippines. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Philippine people—for all those who have lost loved ones, who have been injured, who are now homeless or perhaps separated from their families, and who lack access to basic, human needs. May you not be burdened with a load too heavy to bear.
