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.”
Foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston has resigned, CTV News has confirmed. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Johnston cited the intense politicization of his appointment and work, as the reason for his resignation.
Fires across the country are burning millions of hectares of land but what does that really look like? CTVNews.ca compared the blazes to some cities and lakes in the country showing just how big they have gotten.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed Friday that alleges that he described a Pentagon 'plan of attack' and shared a classified map related to a military operation.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament.
Despite the alarming facts and figures, experts say Canada is far more reactive than it is proactive when it comes to wildfires and they’re calling for a national campaign on wildfire education to better prepare for the future.
Showers are predicted Saturday over the aggressive wildfire threatening Tumbler Ridge, but forecasters say thunderstorms could sweep through the parched region without bringing any rain.
Air Canada says it made a mistake in rejecting some compensation claims from the thousands of travellers affected by delayed flights due to computer malfunctions.
Provincial police with the Bracebridge detachment say a 15-year-old boy, 12-year-old girl, and seven-year-old girl who were reported missing have been found safe.
A tenant displaced in the downtown Sudbury fire last month said her hotel is denying her request to move her room to a centralized location following an attempted break-in.
About 40 people who say they've been impacted by an increase in crime since the Living Space homeless shelter moved into their neighbourhood have taken their messages to the street.
Hundreds of counter-protesters gathered near three schools in Ottawa's west end on Friday to take a stand against a B.C. man who is protesting what he calls "gender ideology."
Foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston has resigned, CTV News has confirmed. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Johnston cited the intense politicization of his appointment and work, as the reason for his resignation.
The Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa's west end will be renamed Kichi Zībī Mīkan, if approved by the National Capital Commission's board of directors.
Montreal police (SPVM) stats for 2022 show that crime went up dramatically in 2022 and, taking COVID-19 pandemic numbers into account, violent crimes have been on the rise overall since 2017. In addition, motor vehicle thefts skyrocketed, having more than doubled since pre pandemic years.
A chain of illegal magic mushroom dispensaries in Ontario is determined to open a location in Montreal this summer despite the threat of a crackdown by Mayor Valerie Plante.
Nova Scotia says it has identified more details about the records stolen in a file transfer service cyber attack, impacting teachers, students and health care workers' records.
Winnipeg police say a woman is in hospital with severe injuries after she was allegedly stabbed by a man in what police describe as a completely random and unprovoked attack.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new cabinet Friday, about two weeks after her United Conservative Party took the majority of seats in Alberta.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new cabinet Friday, about two weeks after her United Conservative Party took the majority of seats in Alberta.
Weekly wastewater surveillance data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control suggests COVID-19 transmission has continued declining in the Lower Mainland this month, a week after the centre reported its lowest hospitalization total in nearly two years.
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)
