A Birmingham mosque has successfully collected donations to fill two shipping containers to help Turkey and Syria quake victims, praising community members for their generous response to the call.
Launching the appeal, Birmingham Central Mosque is working alongside Ummah Care Foundation to deliver the donations.
Describing people’s response as phenomenal, project coordinator Sakeeb Haq said they had to stop taking donations on the third day of the appeal after donations exceeded expectations.
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“We have been exceptionally fortunate, the combined efforts of the community have been overwhelming,” Haq told BBC.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria last February 6. So far, it has claimed more than 44,000 lives.
Seeing images of destruction, several Muslim charities have launched appeals to help those affected on the ground.
Birmingham Central Mosque has been flooded with donations to send to Turkey and Syria, Sakeeb Haq said 
Volunteers
Haq said that one container could be shipped to Turkey from Wednesday and a second being shipped to Syria on Thursday.
“We have decided to send one to Gaziantep, as close to the epicenter as possible, and the other will go to Syria,” Haq continued.
“There are two large rooms full of donations at the mosque and we are also using a container on an articulated lorry and a smaller container for storage.”
As many volunteers rushed to help organize and load up donations, Haq said the community was doing all it could to help those affected.
“You look at the images, you read the stories and the narrative is just heartbreaking,” he explained.
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