KILIS, Türkiye

International students studying at Turkish institutions volunteered to assist earthquake victims in southeastern Kilis after powerful earthquakes shook the region earlier this month.

Seven international students arrived in Kilis after the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes centered in Kahramanmaras struck Türkiye, killing more than 42,000 people.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces — Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating tremors.

Aisyatur Radhian, one of the volunteers helping with aid classification at the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), told Anadolu that she is Indonesian and a third-year student at Istanbul University's Theology Department.

Radhian explained her desire to visit the region by contacting officials following the earthquake, saying that she lived in Türkiye for seven years and so rushed to aid as soon as she heard about the earthquake.

"I strive to perform whatever task is assigned to me. I want to stay here for at least another five days," she added.

"We came to Kilis to help the victims and provide psychological support to the youngsters," said Haitian Esperancia Joseph, a student at Istanbul Gelisim University's Department of International Business and Commerce.

"Our international students have been studying in Türkiye for a long time and have actively participated in our courses. Our friends also assisted us in the field during the recent flood calamity in Kastamonu," Betul Dede, the university coordinator of the association, added.