Festival :: Turkish food festival to build three water wells in Africa

Raleigh : 04-19-2015

It did not matter if it was sunny, windy, or rainy on Sunday. Hundreds of people showed up for the Turkish Food Festival, which was organized by Divan Center and IITS to raise funds for building clean water wells in Africa. A wide variety of foods from Turkish cuisine were offered in the event. Some of the popular items included gyro (doner), Turkish ravioli (manti), grilled kebabs, Turkish coffee, and baklava. Proceeds of the event, a total of $6,070, was donated to Embrace Relief, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that brings together teams of volunteers to collaborate on humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The three wells were built in Kenya. The first well was dedicated to Our Three Winners, Deah, Yusor, and Razan, the victims of the Chapel Hill shootings.

Nearly 1 billion people around the world do not have access to clean, safe water. Especially, rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa suffer greatly. The suffering in many cases is needless as groundwater reserves can be tapped with a small investment for drilling a borehole 50 to 100 m deep and installing a hand pump. One can sponsor a well for a whole village with a donation as little as $4,500.