A French father, Stephane Bourbier, and his son, Rei Bourbier cycled to Istanbul in 57 days to collect support and raise awareness for the victims of the earthquakes that caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people in 11 provinces of Türkiye on February 6. The two plan to use the donations they have collected in the countries they have been cycling through for the children affected by the earthquake and draw attention to the needs of the region through a Turkish organization called Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV).

“I will go to the earthquake zone from Istanbul with my son on our bicycles. I want to feel like sharing the feelings of the people who live there,” said Stephane Bourbier.

“In 2011, my mother founded an association to help the victims of the Fukushima earthquake in Japan. So I became sensitive to earthquakes as well. When I heard about the Kahramanmaraş earthquake, I researched non-governmental organizations in the region. And when I saw AÇEV’s activities in the earthquake zone, I wanted to support them,” said Rei Bourbier.