After a week of intense rescue work in Türkiye following the earthquake which devastated the country located in the former Ottoman empire as well as Syria, Manuel Pardo, UCAM vice-dean and member of the Bomberos Unidos Sin Fronteras – BUSF – (United Firefighters Without Borders) association, returned to Spain. On arriving at the Los Jerónimos Campus, his face showed the fatigue of long workdays in very harsh conditions of extreme cold on unstable terrain, with the complicated task of searching for survivors in the midst of an immense tragedy. María Dolores García, president of the UCAM, welcomed him on his arrival and thanked him for his work and dedication towards those in need; a true example of UCAM's commitment to those with the greatest need.  

The 112 nurse and professor at Universidad Católica stated that ‘although we are pleased to have done our bit to try to mitigate the damage, we must not forget that there are thousands of families, who have sadly endured the devastation of this earthquake, still affected.’ He also recalled the rescue of a woman who was still alive from one of the collapsed buildings: ‘We started at two o'clock in the afternoon and finished at four o'clock the next morning, at -18 degrees. It was a very tough experience, but we had a lot of experience and a professional team which gave this woman a chance’.

The president of UCAM said she hopes that Manuel's example ‘will be followed and attract more colleagues and students, because we never know where the need may arise. After what has happened, Türkiye and Syria have many difficult months of need ahead of them’. In addition, she mentioned that the educational institution will continue to help, as on Wednesday the UCAM Murcia CB will host Turkish Darussafaka and ‘all the proceeds will be donated to victims’.

Likewise, after speaking with Manuel Pardo on his arrival, she said that ‘he asked us for help to replace emergency sanitary equipment, as the ones they had were left there or are unusable’. She stated that ‘The University will do everything in its power’.

Aid for Syria and Türkiye via UCAM 

To help those affected, UCAM has set up the Bizum code 05056 and the bank account ES39 0049 0166 5829 9000 4028. All proceeds will be transferred to Caritas so that they can be used directly in the affected areas.