09 May 2023 , 07:27
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Ekin-Su Culculoglu has confessed that she has been left traumatized after a visit to her family’s devastated homeland.
The former Love Island winner, 28, paid a visit to her family's home in Turkey last month after an earthquake killed more than 50,000 people.
The reality TV star met a number of children who she said clung to her the moment they saw her and began to call her 'mum'.
One little girl in particular, begged Ekin-Su to take her home - an experience which left the Love Island star 'traumatised'.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain this morning, Ekin-Su told hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls that she came back to the UK with a heavy heart after leaving the little girl behind, and has been thinking about adopting her ever since.
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Appearing on Good Morning Britain this morning, Ekin-Su told hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls that she came back to the UK with a heavy heart (ITV)"I would love to take her. It was traumatising - the whole experience. But once you bring one home you want to help them all. I really just want to raise awareness. We don't know how lucky we are to be in the UK," Ekin-Su explained.
The reality TV star previously said: “She wanted me to stay and be her mum because she had lost hers. I couldn’t hold my tears in. It felt very overwhelming. Some of the other children had also lost family members.
"I wish I could have taken them back to England. They feel alone and need love and support.”
Ekin-Su was born in London and grew up in Loughton, Essex, but feels close to her family roots. She also holds Turkish citizenship after living in Istanbul for two years.
Love Island winner Erin-Su Culculoglu visits a Red Cross child friendly space in the city of Hatay (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)She went back to the country three months after the disaster, to visit relatives and do whatever she can to help.
She joined British Red Cross workers in the southern province of Hatay to help with the ongoing relief mission.
The TV star pitched in with workers making thousands of meals by stirring giant pans of life-saving broth.
Ekin-Su is hoping to raise awareness (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)The catastrophe, described as Europe’s “worst natural disaster for a century” by the World Health Organisation, began in the early hours of February 6 with a series of tremors, including the first two which measured a massive 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale.
They were followed by more than 11,000 aftershocks that left 107,200 people injured and at least 300,000 buildings damaged or destroyed.
More than 2.3 million Turks remain displaced, with most now living in camps where the threat of disease, including cholera, looms large.
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