Cumbria Freemasons are helping to donate £60,000 of emergency aid to earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria.
The grant is being donated alongside other vital emergency supplies by the organisation with the help of other Freemasons across the country.
The aid and money is going directly to the British Red Cross, UK for UNHCR and UNICEF who are leading the relief effort on the ground.
Bill Bewley, head of Cumbria Freemasons, said: “I’m very pleased we’ve been able to help the Red Cross, UNICEF and the UNHCR with their relief effort following this terrible earthquake.
“Many thousands of people are in very urgent need of assistance and I’m proud that Freemasons are providing essential support to charities on the ground working with survivors.”
More than 16,000 people are confirmed to have died in the two quakes which have devastated large areas of south west Turkey and Syria. The death toll is set to rise significantly as more bodies are found.
Tens of thousands of survivors are sleeping in the open in temperatures which have fallen below zero. Snow is falling in some parts as the region experiences colder than average winter weather that is also hampering rescue efforts.
Damage from the quake has affected at least seven provinces in Turkey as well as across northwest Syria. Thousands of homes have been destroyed, displacing families across the region. Schools, hospitals and other medical and education facilities have also been damaged and destroyed in the disaster.
Potential damage to roads and critical infrastructure is also complicating search and rescue efforts and the wider humanitarian response.
The grant comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation, which is funded by Freemasons, their families and friends, from across England and Wales.
