Turkey & Syria Earthquake Emergency Assistance

More than 56,000 people were killed in both Turkey and Syria in the massive earthquakes that struck in February. In the affected areas of Turkey, it is estimated that more than 2 million people are still living in tents and temporary housing.

In Syria, people have been forced to live in harsh conditions as a result of the 12-year-long conflict. In North West Syria, where JEN works with the partner organization, 90% of the population of 4.5 million people need humanitarian assistance to survive.

With your support and emergency fundraising donations, JEN has provided water and sanitation assistance to Al Ajami camp in Salqin, North West Syria, installing latrine units with hand washing sinks, shower rooms and solar-powered lightings. We constructed 10 latrine units.

The camp was originally set up as a shelter for people fleeing conflict. Before the earthquakes, 25 families lived in the camp, but after the earthquakes the number increased to 65 families. There were insufficient water and sanitation facilities and people were at risk of contracting cholera, typhoid fever, and diarrhea. The implementation of water and sanitation projects was highly urgent. As a result of the project implementation, more than 1,800 people have benefited from these latrine units.

In Turkey, we distributed relief supplies in the southeastern cities of Sanliurfa and Kahramanmaras after the earthquakes, where the need for assistance was identified as particularly high. Based on the results of the needs assessment, the minimum supplies required for evacuation life were identified. In both cities, we distributed 1,000 mattresses, 1,000 blankets, 5,026 sets of ready-to-eat food such as canned food, 466 lactation kits, 100 baby hygiene kits, 100 infant hygiene kits, 350 male hygiene kits, 450 female hygiene kits and 29,300 potable water bottles. We reached a total of more than 10,000 people.

Some of the affected people had fled the conflict in Syria and were living as refugees in Turkey, while others were from communities that had hosted refugees. Even before the earthquake, these people had been forced to live a difficult life due to the COVID-19 and rising prices. JEN will continue to provide assistance to people in Turkey who have been forced to live in difficult conditions. We really appreciate your warm support.