The practice of offering shelter to those displaced by the disaster in the southeast became widespread on social media across Türkiye and was recently backed by a state campaign initiated to help victims of the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes that left more than 43,500 people dead.
After the severe earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye earlier this month, tens of thousands of buildings across the region were left severely damaged while around 13.5 million people that were residing in quake-hit areas were left displaced and in need of shelter.
The earthquake victims who had to leave their homes found their shelter in tents, containers and KYK dormitories with many of them leaving their shattered homes and moving to other provinces, including nearby Mersin and Adana.
The "Let My Home Be Your Home" ("Evim Yuvan Olsun") campaign aims to bring together those with vacant/unused houses and earthquake victims looking for a living space through a system working in coordination with relevant district governorships and the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
The officials including Vice President Fuat Oktay and Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank explained the details of the campaign and noted it was established as "a reliable solution."
As part of the campaign, owners of houses will be able to rent their homes to earthquake victims free of charge or on favorable terms, Oktay noted.
According to the ministry's written statement, applications can be submitted by those who want to offer their vacant/unused house to earthquake victims for at least three months. Applications are examined on-site by the district governorship of the district where the house is located.
The statement also said the number of citizens who want to participate in the "Let My Home Be Your Home" campaign had exceeded 5,000 as of Thursday.
