Strathmore’s Kahve cafe raises funds after Turkey earthquake

A Strathmore cafe might be kilometres away from the devastation in Turkey but it hasn’t stopped them from rolling up their sleeves to pitch in. See how they’ve done it.

Emrah and Meltem Ukur have been donating tips from customers at Kahve in Strathmore to Turkey’s earthquake relief efforts. Picture: Adam Daunt

A husband and wife duo are digging deep at their Strathmore cafe to help their homeland recover from its devastating earthquake.

Emrah and Meltem Ukur, who run Kahve cafe, are trying to help people impacted by last week’s catastrophic earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which has killed more than 30,000 people.

The husband and wife duo were dishing out coffee last Tuesday when they heard about the quake, and scrambled for information on their immediate family in Turkey.

Their family was safe from the unfolding disaster, but the Ukurs were moved by the heartbreaking scenes coming from ground zero.

“We got the message and they were really scared and really shaken up … we didn’t know how big it was,” Meltem said.

Emrah added: “We started seeing images of the places that got affected, like Syria and some parts of Lebanon and Turkey, it was pretty full on for us.”

The Ukurs could not shake the feeling of needing to help those in their time of need.

“We felt happy that they (their family) were safe but once we started seeing all those cities collapse and so many people devastated, we couldn’t really be happy,” Meltem said.

“Physically our family may be OK but emotionally they were really bad.”

The duo decided to donate all their tips from customers to help recovery efforts in Turkey, and some of their suppliers chipped in with free cookies and coffee to ensure more money goes to Turkey’s aid.

A week later, and they have an overflowing tip jar at the counter of their cafe, with people visiting from across Melbourne to donate.

“It’s been very overwhelming … everyone’s been very generous and kind,” Emrah said.

“It’s amazing, it’s a great cause and we just wanted to help out as much as we can.”

Kahve Cafe is at 4 Willonga St, Strathmore.