Chicago area organization sending medical supplies to earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey, Syria
Nearly 47,000 people have died from the February 6 quakes, according to ABC News
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Box by box, volunteers with MedGlobal load up much needed supplies at Chicago's O'Hare Airport as they prepare for a journey overseas to help people impacted by deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
"We're hoping to continue supporting however we can," said Ahmed Aduib, with MedGlobal. "A lot of the injuries are orthopedic injuries -- bones being crushed and stuff -- so a lot of these surgeons are going to assist those individuals, do some surgeries, help them. Some of them lost legs and stuff, so that's really the focus."
Once on ground, the team will head near the earthquake's epicenter to distribute medical supplies while providing mental health support for countless trauma victims.
"These young children have been through twelve years of war and now add to it an earthquake, especially in northern Syria. It's very devastating," Aduib said. "We want to talk to them, see how they're feeling and kind of change that mood a little bit."
Nearly 47,000 people have died from the February 6 quakes, according to ABC News.
"Each one of those individuals is a person, a family member, a brother, a sister, a mother," Aduib said,
The medical team's concern is gaining access to areas that need help in the already war torn country of Syria.
Volunteers with Doctors Without Borders entered northwestern Syria Sunday, bringing tents for families left homeless and winter kits to insulate the tents from the cold.
The doctors there are pleading for more help to match the scale of this crisis.
"The team of doctors are hoping to get in. That's the focus," Aduib said. "We have two hospitals in northern Syria that we have been managing for years now, so we're hoping to get in, replenish those hospitals with a lot of equipment that we took, and hopefully just help out however we can."
Now, the group, who left Sunday night, plans to stay in the earthquake-stricken area for about two weeks but they will return to rotate with other volunteers on the ground for as long as it takes.
