KARACHI: Dawlance is the leading brand of home appliances in Pakistan and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arcelik – the 2nd largest manufacturer in Europe. The parent company is based in Turkiye – a country that was devastated by the strongest earthquake (7.8 magnitudes), on the 6th of February 2023, causing over 50.000 deaths in the region. Therefore, Dawlance has pledged to provide relief and show solidarity with the brotherly Islamic nation, by generously contributing to Arcelik’s earthquake-rehabilitation initiative.
Koc Holding – the largest conglomerate of Turkiye that owns Arcelik and Dawlance, has also set up a Crisis Coordination Center, to help people affected by the earthquake. Immediately after the earthquake, Arcelik constituted a ‘Search and Rescue Team’, who saved 20 precious lives of citizens trapped in the collapsed buildings and rubble. The company has also established relief centers in; Hatay, Adiyaman and Kahramanmaras to deliver valuable humanitarian aid across these regions.
This resourceful initiative for the rehabilitation of affected communities has already delivered 800,000 relief items, including food, clothing, blankets, tents, solar panels and generators, as per the prioritized need list and guidelines of the Turkiye government. Using old washing-machine drums, Arcelik has created and distributed room heaters and stoves, while also providing refrigerators for the cold chain for the safe delivery of medicines.
Kitchen trucks to deliver hot meals and Hygiene trucks to provide laundry services have also been sent to the affected areas. Under the leadership of Koc Holding, Arcelik and other group companies, a container city is being established in the region to adress the longer-term shelter needs of those who lost their homes in the earthquake. It is also opening a call center to create a livelihood for the people of the region.
The Chief Executive Officer of Dawlance – Umar Ahsan Khan stated that: “We are deeply saddened by the national disaster impacting millions of lives in Turkiye. This tragedy has inspired us to join Arcelik’s efforts for overcoming the crisis. We understand that the process of rehabilitation will be a long and challenging one, but we are committed to extending every possible support to our brethren.”
Arcelik Chief Commercial Officer of South Asia Can Dincer expressed his gratitude to Dawlance for joining the rehabilitation initiatives and said: “The people of Turkey will never forget the compassion shown by our Pakistani brethren, to help us survive the tremendous challenges after the earthquake and resume our journey towards progress. All employees of Arcelik are thankful to the Dawlance family, for extending invaluable support, to lift our spirits during the most difficult days of our nation.”
The resourceful corporate and industrial sectors of Pakistan, Turkiye and other friendly countries must take inspiration from these noble gestures by Arcelik and Dawlance. Such generous initiatives from socially responsible enterprises and philanthropic individuals around the world, will make a huge difference in the lives of the Turkish people and give them hope for a brighter future.
