Turkey Earthquake

So, I just wanted to do a quick blog post here, partly as a way of connecting with other tutors during this sad period and also as a kind of cathartic release.

Earlier this week Turkey was devastated by an earthquake. I’m sure most of you will have seen the pictures of family looking for loved ones, as well as the videos of buildings collapsing into the streets, while people scatter to avoid the falling debris.

Usually when we see these disasters, be it man made or natural, after a few days or so we go about our regular lives as the disaster drifts to the back of our minds before being forgotten. But as all the tutors on Cambly are too well aware of at the moment, this disaster is very much in the foreground of our lives as we talk with students day after day and hear stories first hand of families torn apart. Listening to a grief stricken student with tears in her eyes as she talks about a family member she hasn’t heard from since the earthquake struck, or hearing a young man talk about  how his best friend lost both his parents…these are things that will stay with me far longer than any grainy picture on a TV screen.

Cambly is first and foremost a way of helping get the bills paid, but now as I speak with more and more people directly affected by this disaster, I realise that Cambly can be more than a job. It’s a community. A community that is now pulling together do all that it can to offer some kind of support to those so direly in need.

While we can help by donating money, maybe as tutors we’re  helping indirectly by just being a compassionate ear for those in need, or a sounding board for those frustrated by politics. However we can help and whatever we can do, I’m sure that any help is better than none at all.

Please remember, if you want to donate, make sure you support a recognised organisation. Sadly, it’s at times like this that the scammers and the opportunists try to cash in! I’m not going to post any links here, as usual Google is your friend… Other search engines are available 🙂

Until next time. Alice.