Internationalization of the local activities of humanitarian aid organizations: The example of Corlu branch of the Turkish Red Crescent Association

Throughout history, humanity has needed help for various reasons and several international humanitarian aid organizations as well as non-governmental organizations have actively taken part in meeting this need. Red Cross and Turkish Red Crescent - as it is named in our country - have always played a key role in the field of humanitarian aid under every condition. This study introduces a number of international aid organizations that have come together throughout history with an aim of humanitarian aid, covers the activities that have been carried out by Turkish Red Crescent within a historical framework as of the First Word War and after, and analyzes the activities of Turkish Red Crescent Çorlu Branch in 2020 as a local example. Prepared based on local and international research papers, theses, reports and books, this study presents the notion of humanitarian aid on a larger scale in addition to the aid activities that have been locally carried out by Turkish Red Crescent so far through Çorlu Branch activities in specific. The local activities that have been included within the scope of this study also exemplify the importance of local organizations for the concept of humanitarian aid to reach a global measure. Considering that the aid activities of Çorlu Branch followed at a local scale function as capillary vessels for an international organization like Red Cross, this study also demonstrates how crucial local humanitarian aid activities are in contributing to the international targets.