site.btaBulgarian Red Cross Transfers BGN 1.81 Mln to Quake-Hit Turkiye, Syria

The sum transferred so far to the two countries hit by the February earthquakes, Turkiye and Syria, is BGN 1.81 million, while the material aid amounts to about BGN 626,000, Dr Valentin Peev, deputy chair of the Bulgarian Red Cross's (BRC) general assembly, told reporters in Kardzhali, South Bulgaria, on Thursday. Peev as well as Dr Slavita Dzhambazova, Deputy General Director and Head of Organizational Development at the Bulgarian Red Cross, were in Kardzhali for the reporting assembly of the district office there.

Peev specified that the funds have been transferred in two tranches, and the fundraising is ongoing.

The BRC spoke about an association for mutual assistance between Balkan countries that was founded nearly a decade ago, whose members include Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, and Turkiye. Peev said: "Neighbours helping neighbours is now being put into practice. Moreover, we are working perfectly with the Turkish Red Crescent, and thanks to the disaster reserve we had created, we had a reserve that serves in the current situation".

The two BRC representatives pointed out that the Mountain Rescue Service rescued three people.

Dzhambazova shared that she had never witnessed such a strong and spontaneous response of support to a disaster before. "This is enshrined in the fundamental principles of the organization," she added. She linked the possibility of assistance to the development of new structures in Bulgaria and reported that the BRC has about 150,000 members and nearly 20,000 volunteers across more than 250 municipalities.