The faculty, students, and staff of Harvard Business School are thinking about the people of Turkey and Syria who were impacted by the recent earthquake. We have all been touched by the loss of life, the hopeful stories of survival, and the rapid response of civilians and relief organizations to render aid. If any of our alumni are looking to connect with one another, we recommend using the Alumni Directory together with the secure Alumni Messaging Service to communicate (click on the envelope icon on any alumni profile).

Below are brief reports on efforts by members of the HBS community to rally support and aid for the victims of this tragic event. If you have a story or news to share, please email us at alumni_communications@hbs.edu.

WHERE TO GIVE

We offer the following suggestions of organizations for those wishing and able to provide financial support for those in need:

• Syria Relief
• Turkish Philanthropy Funds
• Red Crescent (Turkey) (Syria)

HBS COMMUNITY NEWS

MARCH 29

Hakan Polatoğlu (AMP 178, 2010), board member at the Eskisehir-based food producer Eti, notes that his company has been producing a special biscuit that addresses the nutritional needs of earthquake victims in the area. The product had been in development for years prior to the disaster, says Polatoğlu, developed to address a rise in natural disaster–related emergencies caused by climate change. “Moreover, we have designed a special supply-chain management system that will serve disaster victims and recovery workforce across a large geographical region prone to high risks,” he notes. “This product is not available in our sales system, and it is marked with ‘not for sale.’ It is only provided by our logistics system, which is highly efficient serving under severe conditions.”

The earthquakes hit just a month after the product launched, and Eti leapt into action, delivering the product to its distribution nodes, reaching victims within a day. “This had been the most unfortunate and heartbreaking test of our food-aid program,” says Polatoğlu. “But it also showed us how accurate we have been in identifying such a social-sensitive goal for ourselves as a food company. We are willing to continue working along the same objective with additional features and more dedicated resources from now on.”

MARCH 21

To support earthquake victims in Turkey, Doğan Bermek (OPM 25, 1997) has launched a project that will employ locals in a traditional handicraft business. The effort is centered in southeast Turkey, a region known for its production of high-quality Adiyaman carpets. By building a sustainable industrial and commercial base for recovery, Bermek says, it will allow locals—who rely on work that has been disrupted by the earthquakes, including agriculture and animal husbandry—to remain in place and not have to settle elsewhere. “This allows them to modernize their lifestyle but still allows them to live with their animals and with their farms,” says Bermek. “And we can duplicate this project or triplicate this project in other settlements in the region.” He has also begun to talk to potential local partners in the region, too, including the local municipality and a women’s cooperative.

The two-phase project, Bermek says, will start in April 2023, with a shipment of wool and about 50 hand looms distributed to the region with training courses organized to teach the craft. The second phase will include more sophisticated weaving loom deliveries and the creation of more formalized workshops to allow for carpet production. “I am doing this for my people. Those people are my people. I have been working with them for the last 70 years of my life,” says Bermek, who has worked as a human rights activist in the country and the region for the last twenty years after a long career in business. “We are not taking any money out of it. This is just our helpful work.”

MARCH 16

Semih Karacesme (MBA 2021) and Süleyman Onay (MBA 2016) are working with the Turkish Education Foundation to raise awareness about a unique fund designed to support students called “Keep Them in School.” “The foundation initially had plans and means to support 1,000 students but they have received an overwhelming number of applications,” says Karacesme. In just one week, some 94,234 university students have applied, he notes, and all have acute needs: 1,122 of them have had deaths in the immediate family (mother, father, and/or sibling); 2,207 have had deaths in the household; 8,413 have had injuries in the household; 2,779 of the students’ homes have been demolished; 15,599 of the students’ homes have been critically damaged; and 9,623 of the students’ homes have been partially damaged. “We are reaching out to various organizations to support this fund, as there is a great gap, financially, to ensure these students' education does not get disrupted. We really believe that the Harvard alumni network can make a difference,” says Karacesme. (International donations can be made here.)

MARCH 15

Yasemin Sırali (MBA 2006), Director of Sustainability (ESG) at Turkey's FIBA Group, reports that the company has been on ground zero since day one. Founded by Hüsnü Özyeğin (MBA 1969), and chaired by Murat Özyeğin (MBA 2003), FIBA has so far allocated $18 million for immediate and long-term relief efforts.

"FIBA Group and the Özyeğin family have been continuing their support in the earthquake zone since February 6 with all their subsidiary companies and the Hüsnü Özyeğin Foundation (HMÖV), Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV), and Özyeğin University, of which they are founders," says Sirali. "Murat Özyeğin visited the region on the third day, followed by Hüsnü Özyeğin, Honorary Chairman, and Ayşecan Özyeğin Oktay, Vice Chairwoman of FIBA. The Group is committed to staying in the region for as long as it takes to rehabilitate and reconstruct, and is formulating its post-disaster relief efforts in three phases, prioritizing shelter, food, education, and health."

During the initial emergency phase, 230 trained miners from FIBA's lignite mining subsidiary, Polyak, spent 10 days searching under the rubble and rescuing 30 people. FIBA CP, the Group's commercial property management subsidiary's shopping malls, as well as the schools and dormitories formerly constructed and transferred to the Ministry of Education by HMÖV were turned into accommodation and food distribution centers serving nearly 7,000 individuals per day. A total of 870 tents, 260 portable WCs, 40 showering units, and 14 large trucks full of immediate necessities including generators, heaters, clothing, packaged food, thermal blankets, hygiene and medical products, and two trucks of animal feed were provided in Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, and Hatay. "Support poured in from all of FIBA's subsidiaries, including those in the wind power plant in Hatay, who rushed to help their communities even though they and their families were severely affected by the earthquake," says Sirali.

Now in the second phase, FIBA Group is quickly procuring and distributing 850 refurbished container homes that will provide shelter to approximately 5,000 people in Gaziantep, Hatay, and Adıyaman, in cooperation with local authorities. Three AÇEV children and family centers, a 10-classroom primary school, an 8-classroom high school, and sports-and-child play areas will be built in the Gaziantep, Hatay, and Adıyaman container villages. To support continuing education, FIBA also provided financial assistance to 1,000 university students who lost their homes and/or families in the earthquake zone.

"Next up," says Sirali, "is the third phase, focused on rehabilitation." The Group, she notes, is diligently formulating its high-impact social investments. "There will certainly be a strong and continued involvement of AÇEV to provide early childhood education, post-trauma psychosocial support for children, parents, and women, and preschool learning materials and hygiene kits for families in container villages and other locations in the region via mobile trucks that serve as safe child and parent support centers." Plans are also underway to cooperate with a large local state university to establish a rehabilitation center serving amputee children.

Sırali has personally supported sending containers, WC units, wheelchairs, and medical products to the region with the Istanbul European Choir, and has contributed as a panelist to the HBS alumni fundraiser organized by Nancy Hammerman (PMD 69, 1995) and Nuzhet Atabek (PMD 69, 1995).

MARCH 8

Nancy Hammerman (PMD 69, 1995) and Nuzhet Atabek (PMD 69, 1995) are hosting an event with the HBS Association of Southern California centered on how the tragedy in Turkey impacted the most vulnerable, especially children, and how to deliver the most effective aid. The event will feature firsthand accounts from HBS and Harvard community, with a focus on emergency survival, safety, health/medicine, shelter, and nutrition; recovery, including schooling, K-12 education, teachers, students, and parents; and organizations making an impact locally. Event details and registration are available at the link below. It is open to all Harvard alumni.

EVENT DETAILS
DATE: Wednesday, March 15, 2023
TIME: 10:00–11:00 AM PT
LOCATION: Virtual Event (Zoom details emailed after registration)
COST: FREE
REGISTRATION

MARCH 1

Mikhail Lomtadze (MBA 2002), CEO and co-founder of Kazakhstan-based fintech and e-commerce company Kaspi.kz, reports that his team worked swiftly to launch an online payment system in their Kaspi.kz Super App—the country’s leading mobile app, used by over 12 million people—to make donations to efforts to organizations like Turkey’s AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority), Red Crescent of Kazakhstan, and the National Volunteer Network. “Kaspi.kz’s mission is to improve people’s lives by developing innovative mobile products and services,” says Mikhail, and this work is in accordance with that mission. “As of today, over 300,000 Kazakhstanis donated almost $2.5 million to support the people of Turkey and Syria.”

FEBRUARY 27

Polat Şen (AMP 190, 2016), CFO of Turkey’s Koç Group, reports that the firm has been offering search-and-rescue and relief support to those affected by the earthquakes. “We rushed to the aid of our people by activating all of our means, in coordination with the relevant public institutions and organizations,” writes Şen. “A total of 531 of our trained and well-equipped colleagues took part in the rescue efforts, saving the lives of 117 of our citizens.”

Şen notes that the Koç Group has also donated more than $12.7 million to urgent needs and allocated another $95 million for long-term projects focused on providing shelter, health, and education as well as supporting children affected by the earthquakes. This will include, says Şen, creating temporary living quarters to house nearly 20,000 people left homeless by the disaster.

FEBRUARY 24

Fatih Uysal (AMP 2000, 2021), CEO of Kariyer.net, the leading HRTech company in Turkey, notes that his company is using its 24 years of experience matching job candidates with employers to help better connect earthquake victims and relief efforts. They developed a microsite, notes Uysal, where “volunteers with relevant skillsets may create a profile detailing in which area(s) they may come in handy; parties (NGOs, etc.) looking for volunteers may create a lead form for their needs; earthquake victims looking for a new job may filter available job ads (in the same region or in a different region); and businesses willing to prioritize the employment of earthquake victims may post a new job ad.”

Led by the company’s product, marketing, and technology teams, the effort was launched in less than 24 hours and has already matched 24,000 volunteers with more than 200 parties looking for help and matched 16,000 earthquake victims searching for a job with more than 1,100 employers committed to prioritize them. “We also assist NGOs (and other parties) during the selection phase of the volunteers existing in our database, to accelerate the process (such as filtering or interview support),” says Uysal. “Moving forward, we’ll keep our focus on the subject and pivot our efforts if needed.”

FEBRUARY 22

Atalay Gumrah (PLDA 17, 2018), CEO of Eczacibasi Group, notes that his firm quickly mobilized search-and-rescue teams and deployed them to affected areas in the early hours of the earthquake. “Our five search-and-rescue teams, consisting of 58 colleagues from various group companies, worked in the disaster area for a week and rescued nine people,” says Gumrah. “We also supported NGOs, local authorities, and municipalities based on their needs, such as hygiene products, medicines, shelters and clothes.” The company also allocated an initial support fund of $15 million, with $5 million of that directed to Turkey’s AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority). “We believe restructuring those cities will take time, and inhabitants will need lots of support, not limited to financial or physical but also mental,” says Gumrah. “We will be there to support them.”

FEBRUARY 21

Peter Henderson (OPM 38, 2009) reports that a WhatsApp group of more than 1,000 OPMers has helped coordinate the donation and distribution of high-protein FOOD meal replacement bars to aid communities devastated by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Following a group poll to select the name, it was Anna Shepherd (OPM 40, 2010) who suggested FOOD—a universally understood word and a catalyst for life. The bars, which are produced in North England, will be transported via Amit Gandhi’s (OPM 54, 2022) company, Atsworld. The bars will be received in Tukey by Billur Barlin (OPM 58, 2022) and her company Solmaz who will assist in the FOOD bars distribution to millions of people in need. Ebru Kohen (OPM 43, 2013) in Istanbul is helping with coordination locally. “This is an example of the remarkable collaborative power of the HBS network. More information on this campaign and ways to donate can be found on the campaign page,” says Henderson.  “Our aim is to supply between 300,000 to one million ready-to-eat FOOD bars per day, and we need as much help as possible.”

FEBRUARY 17

Kamil Yazici (GMP 23, 2017), board member and vice chairman of Turkey’s Anadolu Group, detailed his organization’s sweeping response to the earthquake, which began in the first hours of the disaster. “Anadolu Group companies have factories, farms, warehouses, stores and a wide network of dealers, suppliers and business partners in the earthquake area,” noted Yazici. “Our first task was to reach our employees and all our shareholders around the area and attend to their needs. In addition to monetary and physical donations, our companies and our foundation launched several campaigns to provide and transfer the urgent needs (shelter, food, heating, transport, hygiene, etc.) of the people in the area. Our foreign companies and our international business partners are also supporting the process. We are also offering our contributions to the civil support activities of the NGOs.”

As of February 16, Anadolu Group has sent 179 lorries of food, water, and other supplies to address urgent needs, providing packaged food to 20,000 people and dedicating 100 percent of its local water factory production to aid victims. It has also sheltered more than 3.000 people in its network of factories, farms, and distribution centers, while its employees have taken part in search and rescue efforts. “In the long term, many projects will be needed in the area for rebuilding,” said Yacizi. “We, along with our companies, are making our plans in several different subjects.”

FEBRUARY 15

Ebru A. Kohen and Ozgur Firtina (both OPM 43, 2013) are sharing their perspective on the disaster and are offering advice on how to help in an online interview scheduled for noon (ET) today. Their OPM43 alumni group has already raised $45,000 for relief efforts. “All the money raised will go to the Turkey Mozaik Foundation’s Kahramanmaras Earthquake Emergency Relief Fund to support civil society organizations working on the ground to provide immediate relief and medium to long term recovery to survivors of the earthquake,” notes their fundraising website.

FEBRUARY 14

Esel Çekin, executive director of the HBS MENA Research Center, wrote a letter to alumni and friends of the center that highlighted some of the efforts underway by the HBS Community. “There are so many stories that are developing as I write this email,” Cekin notes. “For example, a group that has several alums in leadership positions instantly deployed close to 400 rescuers to the sites, bought and delivered over hundred trailers filled with needed goods, and engaged hundreds of its employees as volunteers. Another alum deployed over 80 million Turkish Lira to build three container villages including 20 social and educational units in those villages. And a third alum is organizing sponsorships for experienced NGOs to give both in-person and online mental health support for the K12 and university students in the region, as well as those who are outside the region but have been affected directly.” Cekin also noted that MBA students had organized a fundraising dinner and worked with the Student Association and other student organizations to communicate fundraising drives to the entire student body, which resulted in over $10,000 of support for relief efforts.

FEBRUARY 13

The Harvard Gazette covered Turkey to raise money to aid survivors of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Among the efforts highlighted in the article was fundraising by the Harvard College Turkish Student Association, the Harvard College Society of Arab Students (SAS), and an independent effort by Ahmet Akbiyik, a Ph.D. student in political economy and government. “A single dollar goes a long way,” said Syrian native and undergraduate student Ahmad Alsheikh, who helped raise several thousand dollars with his fellow SAS members. “Any donation can help buy a meal or water, let alone get people out of the rubble.”

FEBRUARY 10

Board director, investor, and author Ebru Dorman (MBA 1999) wrote a post on LinkedIn that covered the situation on the ground in Turkey. "Extreme weather conditions present additional challenges to the survivors and the rescue teams," writes Dorman. "Search and rescue teams from Turkey and abroad are working extremely hard. Unfortunately, the situation is beyond their capacity due to the number of ruins and the wide region the destruction has spread."
Dorman's post also offers several recommendations of organizations where readers can direct their support.

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