A mosque has brought its community together to raise money and donate goods for earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey.
The Dar UI-Isra Mosque in the Cathays area of Cardiff has so far raised £25,000, as well as five vans of clothes and shoes to be taken to affected areas.
More than 28,000 people are now known to have died in the disaster, with hundreds of thousands left homeless.
£1.9m has been raised in Wales over the past three days.
Across the UK, more than £60m has been raised as organizations came together to launch the Disaster Emergencies Committee (DEC) appeal.
Dr. Mohamed Gaber, manager of the mosque, said they launched the fundraising campaign in the hope of getting people to take action.
“As human beings, we must be united. Unfortunately, this is one of the few reasons for different nations to come together, and that is a positive part of this catastrophe,” he said.
“This is a purely humanitarian matter, regardless of ideologies or religions.”
He added that many people, not just members of the mosque or the Muslim community, had donated.
The mosque has set a target of raising £50,000 and has planned several fundraising activities over the next few days to achieve this goal.
Dr. Mohammad Alhadj Ali, president and founder of the Syrian-Welsh society, is originally from Aleppo, where his family still lives.
He said: “This is the last chapter of the Syrian tragedy.”
‘Not easy to provide help’
Dr. Alhadj Ali, who is also a clinical lecturer at Cardiff University, organized the clothing collection at the mosque on Sunday specifically to provide relief in Syria’s north-western region.
He said people in this area are in a particularly “complex” situation.
He added: “This region is not under the control of the regime in Syria, and it is not under the authority of the Turkish government, so these guys are in the middle. Also the geographical nature is really very complex, mountains and hills It is not at all easy to provide the help there.
“My sister lives in that region. She is in a place where 20 of her close friends have all died, all pharmacists and doctors. She had to leave her house, it was destroyed by the earthquake.
“It’s been really hard. But I had to make a decision: ‘Shall I just watch the news or do something?'”
He explained that the donations are first taken to Turkey and then transferred to Syria through a border crossing.
He thanked the people of Wales for their support and said: “I would like to say to the whole Welsh community, every little bit helps. You have been so generous. I trust you. Diolch.”
‘Incomprehensible’
Meanwhile, Nigel Jones, an emergency medical technician for the Welsh Ambulance Service in Monmouth, has taken unpaid leave to help out in Turkey.
Together with a team of former and current military personnel and other blue light workers, he will work for the humanitarian charity RE:ACT. Mr Jones said: “This is something I’ve never experienced before. I’ve been working in uniformed services for 42 years now – the Army, Fire and Ambulance Service – so I’m used to seeing rather sad events, but this goes beyond then understanding.
“I think I’m prepared as best I can. Volunteering has always been in me. If you have the resources to help and the opportunity to help, I think you should.”