We are Great! All for One, One for All!
After the earthquakes that occurred on February 6th, 2023, centered in Kahramanmaras that affected 11 provinces, as Organik Volunteers, we came together and held meetings every morning and afternoon for two weeks to discuss how we could help the region. In the following weeks, we continued our meetings and communication to meet the demands and new information coming from the region. At the end of these meetings, we formed a project group and announced a donation drive within our company. The donations were used for housing, food, hygiene, and medical needs. We faced many difficulties in obtaining these necessities due to companies' lack of readiness for such disasters and large organizational gaps. In addition to the purchased supplies, our employees also shared books, toys, and clothes. All of the toys, children's clothes, and books had notes, chocolates, and candies from you. We experienced emotional moments as we individually packed and boxed all the toys.
Our volunteer team accompanied our trucks carrying the aid to the affected provinces to distribute the donations. The experiences and stories shared by our volunteers who went to the region moved us deeply. We didn't forget our furry friends in the region and collected donations specifically for them and delivered them.
We are doing our best to heal the wounds of this disaster. This year, on International Women's Day, March 8th, we wanted to contribute to the future of the children who lost their families in the earthquake, so we donated to the Darüşşafaka Society on behalf of all our female and male employees' spouses. We are considering creating an Earthquake Preparedness Plan for ourselves, knowing that we could all experience such a disaster. Our stance and willingness to help in this great disaster reminded us that we are capable of overcoming any difficulty together. We hope we never have to experience such a disaster again.
Sinan Çiçek: Upon encountering the scene in the streets of Hatay-Antakya on the first day, following the earthquake that occurred in Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş on the morning of February 6, 2023, we had to cope with feelings of pain, shock, devastation, sadness, and helplessness. With the support of our employees and organization, we regained our composure with the awareness of being present to help in the region and started working by dividing the tasks to ensure that all materials were delivered to the right places. As Organik Kimya, we had a quick and accurate reaction in our chemistry. We listened to the experiences of many earthquake victims and volunteers in the region. I want to share one of my most memorable moments that affected me the most. On our second day in the region, we took medical and health materials to the Emergency Intervention Field Warehouse of the Turkish Medical Association in Antakya. Here, I met Dr. Hünkar, who was part of the team that came from İzmir. When I handed him the list of materials we brought, his response greatly moved me. He said that there were no more suture sets left for open wounds, they had used the last set that day, and that there might not be any help for a while. He asked me to convey his thanks to the Organik Kimya Family for their contributions, saying that we provided them with the needed supplies at a time when hope was running out. It made us all happy to respond to this call for help when it seemed like all hope was lost.
Cem Toptaş: As you know, as the Organik Kimya Family, we sent the aid we collected to the earthquake zone through our company, and we were in the region as employees from the first week. Our goal was to deliver the aid materials we had to the victims. As expected, we encountered a very sad picture in the earthquake zone. Seeing the entire city of Antakya in ruins when we entered was very demoralizing for us. However, we gathered ourselves to do our best and provided the necessary organization, delivering our aid to the right addresses by visiting village by village. I would like to thank all of my colleagues who contributed to the collection of these materials reaching the earthquake victims and our company managers who facilitated their transportation.
Başak Çiftçi: In the second aid mission organized by Organik Kimya for earthquake victims, I was part of the team that went to the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaraş. We had the opportunity to meet and interact with the people living in the region. Since my husband is also from Elbistan, we had many relatives living in the area and unfortunately, we lost some of them in the earthquake. Despite all the losses, the people in the region are continuing to struggle and persevere. We collaborated with the volunteers we communicated with at the tent city in Elbistan Center to organize and unload the aid materials we brought. I saw that a good organization had been established here. They had stacked the products in separate tents according to their type (medical supplies, textiles, food, etc.). Our products mainly consisted of materials for children and earthquake victims with limited mobility (elderly, sick, etc.), such as baby diapers, wet wipes, and toys. They particularly noticed that the products we sent were of high quality and asked me to thank the Organik Kimya family separately. Before going to the region, I had serious concerns, but being there with those people, talking, eating, and warming up around the same fire made me feel incredibly happy spiritually. I saw that there were many big-hearted people among our volunteers who went to the region, and I had an experience that I would recommend to every individual who has the opportunity to go. I would like to thank the Organik Kimya family for giving me the opportunity to experience this feeling. I hope we never have to experience such a disaster again.
