Filipino and Turkish residents in Victoria, BC cook and sell over 200 meals for quake relief

Volunteers (from left) Laila Pires, Fatma Dogus, Dominga Passmore, Annette Beech and Megan Lynch cooked for a cause Feb. 18, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross for earthquake relief in Turkey. FACEBOOK

Members of the Filipino and Turkish communities in Victoria, British Columbia teamed up to raise funds for victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the border of Turkey and Syria last Feb. 6 and killed more than 46,000 people.

The Victoria Filipino Canadian Association, Bayanihan Cultural and Housing Society and members of the Turkish community held a fundraiser Feb. 18.Turkish and Filipino delicacies were available for pick-up at $20 apiece.

Volunteers arrived at the Bayanihan Community Centre as early as 6 a.m. to begin cooking for the 200-plus orders the fundraiser received.

Deniz Unsal, a Turkish-Canadian resident of Victoria, said in a statement, “Many of us have relatives, friends, and coworkers who need help. This is how we can work with the Filipino-Canadian community while simultaneously generating money and showcasing our culture via food. We are very grateful to see that others in the neighborhood care about and wish to help.”

“We’ve never had this big of a fundraising,” Agie Mhyre, president of the Victoria Filipino Canadian Association told the Daily Deed. “This is a way to help, to give the funds to Syria and Turkey. The fundraising money will be given to the Red Cross and it will be matched by the government of Canada.”