Palmer Township twins make Türkiye earthquake relief mission important

It is a guess that most Americans, preoccupied with domestic affairs, do not remember the two major earthquakes that struck the Turkish-Syrian border in 2023, even though they killed about 60,000 people in both countries and flattened many communities. Still struggling to recover.

The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, occurred on February 6. The second quake, with a magnitude of 7.7, followed shortly after, about 60 miles from the first. They were among the strongest and deadliest attacks to hit the region in recorded history.

Part of the response to the disaster — a small but still important part — came from twin brothers Haktan and Enes Özeldiz, 17-year-olds at Easton Area High School who traveled to Kilis, Turkey, to distribute food, clothes and shoes to children who had lost one or both parents.

The area is inhabited by indigenous Turks and Syrian refugees who fled the long civil war in their homeland.

The brothers had been donating to relief efforts since the earthquakes, but they wanted to do more. Through a summer GoFundMe campaign and community fundraising, they raised more than $2,200 to purchase supplies.

Emergency teams search for people on February 7, 2023, under the rubble of a destroyed building in Adana, southern Türkiye. (AP Photo/Hussein Al-Mulla)

In Kilis — a city of about 112,000 people where their father Kadir grew up — the teens partnered with the Turkish Red Crescent, the equivalent of the Red Cross in Islamic countries. Two Kizilay workers and a number of the brothers' relatives joined the distribution process.

They went house to house in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, focusing on children on the list provided by Kizilay.

“We gave them jackets, shirts, pants and shoes,” Ennis said. “We also had snacks, especially for children who we could not help because their names were not on the list.”

They also provided food for more than 80 stray cats and dogs living on the streets.

The mission was not without risks. The US State Department said Americans should not travel to areas near Syria due to terrorist activity. The Turkish government frequently detains people for their alleged ties to terrorist groups, often on weak evidence.

The brothers knew this was happening, but they felt compelled to help children who had fallen on hard times even before the earthquakes.

With winter approaching, Haktan and Ennis are now raising money through a second GoFundMe campaign to provide jackets, blankets and scarves for about a hundred more children to keep them warm.

They also created a non-profit organization, E&H Hopeful Hearts, to expand their efforts to help their ancestral homeland.

The Ozildiz family moved to Palmer Township two years ago from Somerset, New Jersey. Before the Türkiye Project, the brothers began helping veterans in the Lehigh Valley, starting the Red Poppies for Veterans Club at the high school to run food drives and donations.

They said they inherited their charitable drive from their parents, Kadir and Deniz, and described them as hardworking and generous people. Qadir, who owns a restaurant in the Poconos, started the business at age 13 when his father died, leaving him to help his mother raise two siblings.

Enes, left, and Haktan Ozyildiz, of Easton Area High School, sit Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the Easton Public Market after speaking about their nonprofit, E&H Hopeful Hearts, dedicated to supporting children orphaned by earthquakes in Turkey. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

“They are our biggest inspiration,” Ennis said. “They always said: Get all the education you can and make money so you can help people who really need it.” “

The Twins aim to do just that. Anis decides whether he wants to pursue computer science or medicine. Haktan plans to study finance and accounting.

Wherever their careers lead, they intend to keep the charity going.

“We want to do something bigger and help more kids,” Haktan said. “We want to load the trucks.”

To contribute to Brother's Winter Fundraiser, go to GoFundMe.com and search: Support E&H Hopeful Hearts: Winter Aid for Turkish Orphans.

Morning Call reporter Daniel Patrick Sheehan can be reached at 610-820-6598 or [email protected]

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