An army of volunteers are helping earthquake victims, this is their story

Burhan Bektas left Istanbul on Tuesday, a day after two earthquakes struck the south of Turkey leaving the region devastated. 

The 30-year-old joined an army of volunteers that have made their way to the region, going of their own volition to help those most in need. 

Burhan spoke to Middle East Eye from Kahramanmaras, one of the worst affected areas. 

"I decided to go to Kahramanmaras because I thought I could be helpful to these people. Given the scale of devastation, I knew that there would be something for me to do here. I left the city alone and one of my friends joined me along the way.

"I didn't have a plan of what I would do or who I would meet.

"I know a lot of people living in these cities have lost a lot unfortunately. I have just talked to a friend at the weekend who found their dead nephew in the rubble. My family has not been impacted by the earthquake but many people I know have. 

"We arrived in Kahramanmaras on Tuesday. We made our way to the hospital the day after the earthquake.

"There were a lot of injured people, too many for the doctors to look after themselves. We were helping doctors to look after patients. On the second day, we left the hospital as further assistance came to the hospital. 

"We established a place where we could cook and a kitchen and this is where we have been for the last few days. 

"We are calling more people to come to the kitchen to help us; we are also fundraising. We are informing people who are living in Istanbul how they can help us through our Instagram stories. We intend to stay here as long as we can."