A Turkish snack van owner based in Altens is raising funds to help those suffering in his homeland following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Yilmaz Huseyin operates the Yilmaz Snack Bar on Hareness Road and has seen the “devastating” destruction in his hometown of Diyarbakir and wanted to help.
He is trying to raise £5,000 to give to the Red Cross in the UK, which is providing aid in Turkey, where millions have been displaced.
Last week, an earthquake levelled several cities and towns across areas of Turkey and Syria leaving more than 37,000 people dead.
Mr Huseyin has more than 400 relatives living in Turkey and recalled his relief after finding his family was safe.
However, during the earthquake, his brother’s building cracked and eventually collapsed – although none of his family was injured.
“I want to raise money because people have been left without anything, I want to help them buy milk and bread. It is something that we always try to do for communities.
“The situation is hard because so many cities have been affected and no medical supplies are coming in by road and the water in the town has turned black, it’s so dirty.
“The only way to get supplies in is from the air because the roads have been affected.”
Raising funds
Mr Huseyin’s parents own a property in the small town of Lice – 50 miles away – which was less affected and so most of his family have relocated there and are safe.
He decided to raise funds to help get supplies into the region, which is very difficult as many roads have been destroyed or are blocked by debris.
Mr Huseyin, who has run his snack van for seven years, says he was planning on travelling to Turkey to assist in aid efforts but decided against it.
“I was planning to go back to help if I could but I decided not to because I would be useless because there are already so many people over there.
“I felt it was better to help from the back and to stay here and raise money for those in need.”
Mr Huseyin plans to buy around £1,000 worth of stock and use it to provide free snacks and meals from his van while asking people to donate what they can to his cause.
Many businesses across the north and north-east have been collecting funds and essentials to send to Turkey including restaurant owner Mustafa Calisir in Inverness.
The scheme is running from 7am until 2pm on Saturday February 18, and will also be open to people affected by the cost-of-living crisis to get some free food.
Mr Huseyin says he would be “most grateful” for anyone who could spare some money for people in Turkey, even if it’s a pound that could buy someone in Turkey a meal.
Conversation