Supporting Earthquake Relief Efforts in Turkey and Syria
When a deadly earthquake struck Turkey and Syria earlier this year, the devastation to the region was significant, claiming thousands of lives and impacting countless others. Baxter and the Baxter International Foundation (Baxter's philanthropic arm) worked with humanitarian aid partners Americares and Direct Relief to support those impacted by the disaster, providing cash and product donations, including fluids, surgery products and antibiotics. Hear from four Baxter employees about their experiences with the earthquake, from being personally impacted to leading Baxter's relief efforts.
It was terrifying when the earthquake first struck. My wife, son and I had to evacuate our home and live out of our car for several weeks, while we tried to contact relatives and friends to make sure they were safe. Thankfully, from the very beginning Baxter made it clear that employee safety was their top priority, staying in constant contact and providing support for those of us in the earthquake zone. My family continues to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake to this day, and I am grateful to work for a company that supports its people in times of need.
Firat Sendur, Sales Representative, Turkey
Immediately after the earthquake hit, Baxter employees in Turkey – some of whom, like Firat, were personally impacted – quickly established contact with customers across the country to understand their situation and help ensure continuous delivery of our products to hospitals in need. I am so proud of our team for exemplifying Baxter’s mission to save and sustain lives and coming together to help patients and colleagues in the wake of this awful disaster.
Necla Ozel, Sales & Marketing Manager, Turkey
I’m originally from Turkey and was eager to do all I could to support people in my home country after the earthquake. I knew that Baxter was well-positioned to assist and offered to help organize our product donation efforts. Coordinating the transportation, logistics and other details was a true collaborative effort with numerous Baxter colleagues, as well as our global donation partners, and everyone acted with urgency to get our products to those in need as soon as possible. I’m inspired to work for a company where people want to make a positive impact on society.
Büsra Tuncelli, Demand Planner, Germany
I grew up in Istanbul and still live in Turkey today. Seeing the destruction from the earthquake was emotional for me, and I felt a strong desire to do something to help. I was familiar with Baxter’s product donation process and reached out to my colleagues who manage those efforts to determine how we could help the earthquake victims. I was humbled by how quickly our teams across Baxter reacted on a human level and jumped into action, with the shared goal of using our position as a global leader to support people during a vulnerable time.
Nazli Senyaprak, Ethics & Compliance Counsel, Middle East, Africa and Turkey