Cargo-partner is supporting local relief activities in Türkiye following the February earthquakes.
The company said its management team in Türkiye and its executive board sought to quickly explore opportunities to support local rescue efforts and relief actions.
“In disaster situations like this, fast reactions are crucial,” said Kursad Tanriverdi, managing director of cargo-partner in Türkiye. “This is why we acted immediately, but not without coordinating our efforts with approved charity and non-profit organisations to guarantee that our help would go where it was needed the most.”
As a first step, the company prepared several trucks to deliver urgently needed goods such as water, food, blankets and hygiene products to the severely affected cities of Adana and Antakya. Within a few days after the earthquake, the company said it had dispatched 14 trucks with relief goods, including 20 container houses, 20 disaster tents, electric generators and tools, mattresses and blankets, bottled water and various foodstuffs. Cargo-partner made use of its own local network and expertise to ensure the “fast and reliable” delivery of the urgently needed relief goods.
Reaching out for further opportunities to help, the logistics provider cooperated with Advantage Austria Türkiye to support the dispatch of an Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU) contingent to Adana. The contingent included military personnel, engineers, emergency doctors, psychologists, an analysis laboratory and 25 tons of materials. Cargo-partner supported the initiative by arranging a truck transport and liaising with the Adana Airport ground handling agent to unload the aircraft with the rescue equipment in Adana.
In addition to the initiatives led by cargo-partner’s management, the company said many individual employees from all around the world wanted to offer help in the form of donations. To ensure that these funds would be used as effectively as possible, cargo-partner set up a dedicated account for employee donations. To date, cargo-partner has collected a total amount of around €200,000 donated by colleagues as well as the cargo-partner management. The gathered funds have been used to help those directly affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye as well as to support general relief activities.
One week after the first 14 trucks were dispatched, the company delivered more than 20 further container houses to various locations in some of the most severely affected areas. Finally, cargo-partner also organised the delivery of a 405sq m tent which was set up in the port city of Iskenderun in the south of Turkey. The tent now houses a kitchen as well as sleeping accommodations for people who have lost their homes in the earthquakes, and it is also used by doctors to provide medical check-ups.
“We were deeply saddened to learn of the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria and did not hesitate to reach out to help,” said cargo-partner’s CEO Stefan Krauter. “Rebuilding is a long process, and there is still a lot of work ahead, but it is encouraging to see that so many have stepped up to help in this crisis, and I am grateful that we as cargo-partner have been able to contribute. We will continue to stay in close touch with our team in Türkiye to offer targeted support for as long as it is needed.”
