It has been 2 years since the February 6 earthquakes, which affected more than 9 million people and killed more than 53 thousand people. Although work continues in many areas such as construction, infrastructure and economic development, it is still difficult to say that life in the affected provinces has returned to normal.
As Support to Life, we continue to support life in Adıyaman, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş with our humanitarian aid efforts. As the implementing partner of our strategic partner Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe and with the financing of the European Union, as part of our project ‘Rebuilding Life for Earthquake Affected People’, which we launched in May 2024, we provided support to 9,346 people in the post-disaster recovery process as of the end of December.
Protection Support: 5,227 People Reached
The problems caused by the earthquake led to difficulties in access to basic rights and services and increased protection needs in large segments of society, especially in vulnerable groups. In Adıyaman, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş, 365 people in at-risk situations were supported with case management. Deep poverty, malnutrition, health problems and psychosocial stress were the most common problems we saw among our beneficiares. In addition, neglect, discrimination, psychological, emotional and physical abuse and exploitation of children were the most common risk conditions.
We paid special attention to combating gender-based violence (GBV) and provided support to 677 women in this area. We also provided 29 women with special needs funds. The most common forms of GBV encountered in the field were psychological or emotional abuse, neglect, violent physical abuse, discrimination and sexual abuse.
Mihrace*, a 23-year-old woman we supported through our protection program in Hatay, was subjected to psychological violence by her husband; when she gave birth to her child, he said he did not accept her and left them. Mihrace said:
"My husband ignored us, ignored his daughter. Thanks to the Support to Life team, we were able to issue my baby's identity card and I was able to have her health checks and vaccinations."
Information and Awareness: We Reached 4,550 People
In the 142 information sessions we organized in the first 6 months of the project, topics such as the use of the Women's Support Application (KADES), prevention of child marriages, and temporary protection status rights were discussed. We also prepared a special training content to raise environmental awareness and zero waste awareness in temporary shelters.
Multipurpose Cash Support: Reached 4,119 People
In addition to social problems, one of the most crucial issues in the earthquake region is economic hardship. We provided one-time cash support to ease the economic burden of families affected by the disaster and enable them to recover. One of the beneficiaries of this support is Ahmet, who cares for his elderly and bedridden parents alone in Adıyaman. Ahmet, who is unable to go to a regular job due to the burden of caring for his elderly and bedridden parents, says that thanks to the cash support, he was able to buy hygiene items and pay his accumulated electricity and water debts.
Psychoeducation: Reached 2,330 People
We also supported 2,330 people with our sessions on coping mechanisms for psychological problems caused by the earthquake, including mental health awareness, anger management and combating violence.
As Support to Life, we will continue to work with the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’ to protect the most vulnerable groups affected by disasters and increase their resilience.
*The names of the beneficiaries have been changed to protect their personal rights.
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