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| Fethullah Gulen joins Sandy relief |
Cooperating with the charity Raindrop Helping Hands in the US, Kimse Yok Mu recently launched the aid campaign, receiving only monetary donations. The first donation in the campaign came from Fethullah Gülen, who donated $10,000, earned from the sales of his books and audio recordings.
Donations made to the charity will be used to provide aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. People can make a donation of TL 5 by texting the word “kasırga” (hurricane) to 5777 from any mobile operator.
Gülen, who lives in Pennsylvania, which was among the states hit by Sandy, also recently wrote a special prayer against the storm and called on Muslims in the US to pray.
Turkish charities in the US have also been providing help to Americans suffering in the aftermath of the hurricane. Raindrop Helping Hands set up a crisis desk to distribute food, while the Turkish Cultural Centers (TCC) in Brooklyn and Staten Island distributed hot meals to some 500,000 people in New York.
The arrival of Hurricane Sandy to the East Coast affected over 20 states, severely damaging New York and New Jersey. The US has experienced over $40 billion worth of property damage as a result of the hurricane, which has killed more than 100 Americans. Many volunteers and disaster relief organizations, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, have been helping those who have been left without electricity, heat, food and, in many cases, shelter.
Hurricane Sandy, which was later downgraded to a tropical storm, churned across Pennsylvania after ravaging New Jersey and lower Manhattan in New York.
Previously, Helping Hands rushed to help the sufferers of the 2011 Van earthquake, which rocked the eastern Turkish province of Van in 2011, killing hundreds of people and toppling a great many buildings in the province. The charity built a student hostel.
Published on Today's Zaman, 07 November 2012, Wednesday
