MSC Group and the MSC Foundation are responding with aid in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
The company is working closely with the Turkish authorities, the Italian Foreign Ministry and the Vatican. MSC Aurelia, normally used as a passenger and vehicle ferry, departed from the Port of Naples on February 16 for the port of Iskenderun, Turkey.
The ship is loaded with basic necessities and first-aid items collected by the MSC Group and the MSC Foundation, together with the Francesca Rava Foundation, a Milan-based organization that aids children in Italy and poor countries around the world The cargo includes 60 pallets of medical supplies, food, hygiene items, warm clothing and blankets, as well as toys and crayons for children. An additional 50 boxes of thermal shirts are being carried on behalf of the Vatican.
EcoEridania Group participated with an in-kind donation and helped with logistics for the relief shipment.
Once it reaches its destination, the MSC Aurelia will be available as emergency accommodation, providing the impacted communities with over 1,000 beds and leisure spaces including a restaurant and cinema, as well as video-game entertainment for children.
In addition, thanks to the collaboration between the MSC Foundation and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a further 100 containers carrying first-aid supplies are departing from Jordan via Haifa, the headquarters of the refugee agency's warehouses. The containers will be destined for Gaziantep, Turkey, and other cities hit hardest by the February 6 earthquake.
Furthermore, MSC Türkiye has set up temporary accommodation at Iskenderun port using empty containers for 300 MSC Group employees and their families who lost their homes in the earthquake. MSC Türkiye is also arranging for the distribution of food, beverages and items to meet basic needs. The MSC Group, in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs, is providing thousands of empty containers to four of Turkey's hardest-hit provinces: Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras. The containers will provide temporary shelter for earthquake survivors.
The efforts also include a global fundraising campaign among MSC Group employees. Every donation by an employee will be matched by the MSC Foundation and distributed to support organizations working on reconstruction projects.
"We feel a strong sense of obligation to act promptly in order to support the people most in need by all means. We are part of a global organization that can set in motion a large-scale operation by involving foundations and associations that we collaborate with all around the world," said Daniela Picco, executive director of the MSC Foundation. "As soon as the terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria struck, we immediately took action to collect funds, supplies and food, which we can deliver on our ships within a short period of time."
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