For Bawer Tekin (shown above with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi), owner of SF Kebab at UCSF’s Mission Bay Campus, news of the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria hit close to home – literally.
Tekin’s family is from Van, Turkey, which lies on the eastern shore of Lake Van. More than one million people live near Turkey’s largest lake which was at the epicenter of the quake that hit the region on Monday, Feb. 6. Tekin said his family is safe.
To support the people of Turkey, SF Kebab and Carmelina’s Taqueria have installed donation boxes at their businesses. The UCSF community can make donations at SF Kebab through Friday, Feb. 17 and at Carmelina's through Tuesday, Feb. 14. Donations will be sent to The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and will help provide survivors with food, water, shelter, and medicine. This is not a UCSF sponsored event.
“A good friend had his house destroyed,” Tekin said. While speaking recently with family and friends, Tekin learned that one of the major problems facing survivors is the weather. “It’s very cold and most people are living outside because their homes were destroyed. They are still in the process of cleaning up.”
In addition to collecting donations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Tekin is planning to donate 50 percent of the restaurant's sales on Valentine's Day to the earthquake victims.
“I spoke with friends who flew to Turkey to help earthquake victims and they said the buildings simply pancaked all the way to the ground,” Tekin said. “People need our help, so we’re doing what we can to provide food, water and shelter.”
For Bawer Tekin (shown above with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi), owner of SF Kebab at UCSF’s Mission Bay Campus, news of the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria hit close to home – literally.
