Kitchener restaurant owner raises money for earthquake relief in native Turkiye
Kitchener restaurant owner raises money for earthquake relief in native Turkiye
Mo Markham (red shirt, fifth from right) and Sariye Sindy (black coat, fourth from right) present the Red Cross with a cheque for money collected at their fundraising dinner. The cheque presentation took place at Kitchener City Hall on March 25, with several local politicians in attendance. (Karis Mapp/CTV Kitchener)
Just under $6,000 collected at a fundraising dinner in Kitchener will soon go overseas to support earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria.
The money, raised at a dinner at St. John’s Anglican Church, was presented to the Red Cross Saturday afternoon at Kitchener City Hall.
Local restaurateur, Sariye Sindy, owner of Queen Shawarma Turkish Cuisine in Kitchener, came up with the idea for the event and prepared the food.
Sindy was visiting family in Turkiye when the quake struck on Feb. 6. She recalls waking up at 5 a.m. to the entire apartment building she was in shaking. Sindy and her family were on the fifth floor.
“It was very scary. From when it started, it almost took 10 minutes – the whole thing was shaking,” Sindy said.
When the tremors began a second time, she had to make a choice.
“I had to make a decision between my mom and my granddaughter. I grabbed my granddaughter, I ran downstairs.”
Sindy’s mom survived and is recovering in Turkiye, but Sindy says leaving her family behind and returning to Canada was difficult.
“I felt very bad when I left them behind me, I couldn’t feel O.K. to enjoy what I’m eating here, where I’m sleeping. I couldn’t relax,” she said.
Putting on the fundraising dinner was an important way for her to help in whatever way she could.
“Now I feel better, if we are doing as much as we can,” she explained.
Another one of the organizers, Mo Markham, said when she lost her home in fire last summer, the community stepped up to help her.
She hopes she can do the same for people displaced by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria and is encouraging others to donate to the Red Cross.
“They really need us to be their neighbours right now,” Markham said. “It really means so much when you’re in that situation to have someone helping you out.”
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston will be questioned by MPs at committee Tuesday morning, about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and allegations of a conflict of interest.
Prince Harry entered a courtroom witness box Tuesday, swearing to tell the truth in testimony against a tabloid publisher he accuses of phone hacking and other unlawful snooping.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday, triggering floods, endangering Europe's largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the emergency.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
Pope Francis briefly went to Rome's main hospital on Tuesday for tests and returned to the Vatican, two months after he was hospitalized with an acute case of bronchitis.
Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose off-hand, English-language cameo on 'The Girl from Ipanema' made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, has died at age 83.
Canada’s housing market saw the largest improvement in affordability in nearly four years in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from economists at the National Bank of Canada.
On this day in 2021, four out of five members of a London, Ont. family were killed while they were out for a walk and struck by a vehicle, in an apparently deliberate attack.
CTV cameras captured the moment London, Ont. firefighters discovered a sparking lithium battery pack in a charred apartment at 122 Base Line Rd. W. Sunday.
There was emotional testimony on Monday from the husband of the woman killed in a crash in south London, Ont. almost four years ago. Paul Kay testified about the last moments in the life of his 68-year-old wife, Penny.
Buses will run during festival hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with final pick-ups at the Vollmer Culture and Recreation Complex just after the festival closes.
Windsor police are looking to identify a suspect who allegedly sexually assaulted a teenage girl and stole from her at a Walkerville park Saturday night.
Police in Barrie say another unsanctioned truck rally held in the city's north end over the weekend drew hundreds of participants and onlookers in a "chaotic scene of disrespect and total disregard for private property."
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Officials are asking people living around Centennial Lake to evacuate their homes as a forest fire burns in the area west of Calabogie, Ont. An evacuation order has been extended to Wednesday afternoon.
Officials are asking people living around Centennial Lake to evacuate their homes as a forest fire burns in the area west of Calabogie, Ont. An evacuation order has been extended to Wednesday afternoon.
Capital Pride will be receiving money from the federal government to cover costs of added security measures at this year's Pride parade and other events.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
A 53-year-old man was shot and killed in the Montreal suburb of Dorval on Monday afternoon. A source told CTV News that the victim is Francesco Del Balso, who has links to Montreal's Mafia.
The numerous forest fires raging in certain regions of Quebec have led to thousands of evacuations since the weekend and continue to threaten infrastructure on Tuesday. Temporary accommodation centres have been opened in nine municipalities on the Côte-Nord, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, to accommodate evacuees.
The Quebec national assembly's ethics commissioner Ariane Mignolet argues that the fact that MNAs are debating their own salaries can raise issues of conflict of interest.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
A Ukrainian woman who now lives in Winnipeg is hoping one day she will be able to bring her husband's remains to her new home, a place he hoped one day he too would be able to call home.
Manitoba Public Insurance is suing the Manitoba government, a Manitoba construction company and an unidentified employee for more than $31,000 saying road work damaged 12 vehicles in 2021.
Calgary-based Cenovus Energy says it has safely restarted a portion of its production that was shut down because of the threat of wildfires in northern and central Alberta.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Edmonton police launched a new tool Monday to encourage reports of "hate incidents," something officers believe will help them track people who may escalate to "hate crimes."
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
The provincial wildfire service is warning British Columbians to have a go-bag and make an evacuation plan with this year's wildfire season off to an alarming start.
Real estate experts say B.C.’s housing market is heating back after cooling off due to rising interest rates but the future is uncertain as several economists expect the Bank of Canada to hike rates again.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
Mo Markham (red shirt, fifth from right) and Sariye Sindy (black coat, fourth from right) present the Red Cross with a cheque for money collected at their fundraising dinner. The cheque presentation took place at Kitchener City Hall on March 25, with several local politicians in attendance. (Karis Mapp/CTV Kitchener)
