TURKIYE-SYRIA EARTHQUAKE – Turkiye & Syria 2023
On 6th February 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit south-east Turkiye, close to the town of Gaziantep, near the Syrian border. Several hours later another 7.5 magnitude quake hit nearby. The confirmed death toll stood at 59,259 – 50,783 in Turkiye and 8,476 in Syria. In Turkiye 273,000 buildings have been destroyed. In north-west Syria over 9,100 buildings have collapsed, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.
A coalition of 30 non-governmental organisations (NGO), GABUNGAN PRIHATIN TURKIYE-SYRIA (GPTS), deployed a team to join the Turkiye-Syria Earthquake Emergency Relief Mission. The team comprised nine personnel from GLOBAL PEACE MISSION (GPM) MALAYSIA, MALAYSIA FOR SYRIA (MFS), CINTA SYRIA MALAYSIA (CSM) and CHILDRITY. With funds of nearly RM500,000 our focus was on aid for search and rescue (SAR) equipments, as well as temporary shelters such as camps, and basic needs, in addition to distribute winter kits including fuel and heating devices, hot meals, as well as bread which is a staple for communities in Turkiye and Syria.
In Turkiye, we have distributed 2000 hot meals, 1000 hygiene kits and 1000 blankets. On the other hand, in Syria we rented machinery for 2 days for rescue mission and distributed 180 heaters as well as fuel, 30 mattresses and pillows, 600 blankets, 250 winter clothes for kids, 400 packs ready-to-eat, 800 hot meals and 200 electrical appliances. We also helped put up 30 tents. In addition, we also distributed happy kits for the kids (toys, books, stationaries and snacks) to support children’s emotional wellbeing post traumatic experience. Happy kit can be used for them to express their feelings, to get distracted or simply make them feel better and happy being treated. CHILDRITY initiated “RUANG”, a mobile psychosocial support and a safe space made for Syrian kids that were affected by the earthquake.
