By Michelle Crean and Sean Moriarty

A kind-hearted Killarney woman - who could be described as a real life angel - is helping devastated people piece their lives back together following earthquakes which claimed the lives of almost 50,000 people.

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Turkey and Syria were ripped apart by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6 and by smaller quakes in the aftermath.

As people there began searching for loved ones and piecing what's left of their lives back together, the country was further devastated this week by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in the Hatay area which damaged even more buildings.

Majella Moloney has been working for the Irish Embassy in Turkey for the last seven months. After witnessing the destruction she wanted to make a difference and now she and her colleagues are volunteering as part of the rescue mission to work as coordinators for aid workers and hospital staff.

Although the Marian Terrace woman is based in the capital city of Ankara some 600km from the earthquake’s epicentre, Majella is also working with local hospitals after victims were transferred there.

She is in daily communication with aid workers who are working in the most affected areas of southern Turkey and northern Syria.

While she is very appreciative that Irish people have donated essential goods to the aid mission, Majella said cash is better. A truck load of goods could take a week to get there but money allows the coordinators to buy what is needed when it's needed.

She told the Killarney Advertiser the harrowing story of a young boy who lost an arm and leg in the devastation as well as his father and some of his siblings who were killed. The youngster is all alone as his injured mother is currently in a different hospital many kilometres away.

“The hospital told us they needed a tablet so he could FaceTime his mother and we were able to organise the purchase of that,” she explained.

“We can get what is needed on the ground to the disaster area quicker. I am in touch with rescue workers and they tell me they need coats and tents. I know people driving up there at the weekend so I can go and buy coats and tents and get them to that car.”

Majella has also received cash from friends in Killarney – via a mobile banking App – including funds raised by her sister-in-law Cllr Marie Moloney, her friend Pauline O’Shea from Muckross and the local Soroptimists group.

For anyone who'd like to donate they can do so via a list of approved charities available on www.dochas.ie/turkey-syria-earthquake-response/.