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Ugandan schools raise $10,000 for earthquake victims in Türkiye

Student leader says donation from the African nation shows their expression of solidarity with the Turkish people who had contributed for the construction of mosques and schools in their communities.

AA

A Ugandan head teacher says most students at his school contributed money that was meant for for their own meals.

Muslim students and some Muslim founded schools in Uganda have contributed $10,000 to the victims of the February 6 twin earthquakes in Türkiye.

A Muslim student leader in eastern Uganda, Salim Mubekete, told Anadolu news agency that they donated the money to show solidarity with the Turkish people and the Muslim community at large, who have contributed a lot towards the construction of mosques at their schools and in the region.

He cited a technical institute as an example which recently opened in the district of Luwero in central Uganda that was built with funds from the Turkish people and donors from Arab countries.

“We were touched by what happened to our brothers and sisters in Türkiye. It is unfortunate that the earthquake killed many people in the country, whose people have been helping us in various ways,” he said.

Mubekete said they approached many schools managed by Muslim communities and individuals and asked students to contribute money towards the earthquake victims in Türkiye.

He said Muslim students eagerly contributed money and the schools added to what the students raised and in total they received the equivalent of $10,000.

Individual contributions

The head teacher of Bulyanku Muslim Primary School, Jamil Wamba, said most students at his school contributed money that was meant for for their own meals.

He said he appreciated the spirit shown by the students.

Uganda Muslim Supreme Council spokesman Ashraf Muvawala told Anadolu they have not yet come up with a programme for raising money for the earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria but they appreciate the individuals and organisations that have contributed to the cause.

At least 41,020 people have been killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on February 6, the country’s disaster management agency said on Sunday. More than 5,800 were also killed in neighbouring Syria bringing the total death toll from both countries to over 46,000.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centred in Kahramanmaras hitting a total of 11 provinces including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

SOURCE: AA