UNS STUDENTS VOLUNTEER IN THE RESCUE MISSION AFTER THE DEVESTATING EARTHQUAKE IN TURKEY

The University of Novi Sad hosted a reception for five of its students who participated as volunteers in a rescue mission after the devastating earthquake in Turkey in the beginning of 2023. The event was held in the Rectorate Building, 13 March 2023.

Three students from the Faculty of Medicine – Vesna Aleksić, Dunja Halilović, and Dragan Bjelić, who are also members of the First Aid Section at their Faculty, participated in the rescue mission with the support of the national Mountain Rescue Mission. Their involvement included a seven-day engagement in the Turkish town of Kahramanmaraş, which was heavily damaged during the earthquake.

Furthermore, two students from the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education – Ivan Raković and Spiridon Efaplomatas, also participated in the activities of the rescue and medical team and spent seven days on the same location. Together with the colleagues from Turkey and Brazil they spent more than 80 hours on-site, tirelessly working on finding and rescuing human lives.

In honour of their great humanitarian, selfless and volunteer act, the Rector of the University of Novi Sad Prof. Dr. Dejan Madić welcomed the students at the meeting where they discussed the preparations, impressions and overall experience they gained through their participation in the rescue operations.

“Their act is not only to be credited to their professors, but to their parents as well. They grew up in such environment that thought them to think more about the others than about themselves” the Rector said. “I consider this to be a unique triumph of both academic thought and their family values”, he added.

During the meeting, students presented the Rector with a framed photograph taken during their time in Turkey. The faculty representatives – from the Faculty of Medicine Vice-Dean Prof. Dr. Biljana Srdić Galić, and the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education Prof. Dr. Radenko Matić – also participated in the event.