CORE worked with our local partners to provide emergency relief and recovery to communities impacted by devastating earthquakes that struck Southern Turkey.
Turkey
Emergency Relief | 2023-now
What damage did the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria cause?
On February 6, 2023, catastrophic 7.8 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes caused widespread devastation across Southern Turkey and Northern Syria. In the immediate aftermath, over 24 million people were severely affected, 3 million of whom were forced to relocate from their homes, and 50,000 were killed. Nearly 300,000 buildings were totally destroyed. “The level of destruction and devastation is shocking, and in many places, it is apocalyptic,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. The destruction reached eleven provinces in Turkey, leaving many reeling from unimaginable loss, injury, trauma, and displacement and in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
How did CORE help support those impacted by the 2023 earthquake in Turkey?
CORE deployed within a week of the tragedy to monitor immediate needs across Southern Turkey and establish critical partnerships with local and regional partners, IhsanRD and MSYD. With operations spanning across Mersin, Gaziantep, Hatay, Islahiye, Kahramanmaraş, and Hassa, CORE and our dedicated partners worked tirelessly to supply impacted communities in need with vital food kits, hygiene packages, cash card vouchers, kitchen sets, and resource coordination support to maintain and scale emergency operations.
77
SMALL BUSINESS AND GREENHOUSE OWNERS SUPPORTED
5,250
HYGIENE KITS AND FOOD KITS DISTRIBUTED
516
KITCHEN SETS DISTRIBUTED
Who were CORE’s local partners providing relief in Turkey?
IhsanRD is a regional nonprofit that operates primarily in Northwest Syria and Southern Turkey. They rapidly increased operations within Turkey in response to the earthquake to meet the needs of Syrian refugees and at-risk communities that have been deeply impacted. CORE and IhsanRD partnered to distribute cash vouchers to earthquake survivors that fled to Mersin. The vouchers allow families to purchase critical relief items such as food, clothes, hygiene products, formula, diapers, and other essentials. Our joint emergency-relief efforts also include distributions of essential hygiene and Ready-To-Eat (RTE) food kits that include non-perishable items and traditional foods in the region.
YSYD (formally known as MSYD) is a local Turkish nonprofit that focused on supporting asylum-seekers and refugees in the country prior to the earthquake. With CORE support, YSYD provided critical earthquake emergency relief, targeting the severely devastated province of Hatay. YSYD ran a call-in center where internally displaced persons (IDPs) can request specific needs that staff then deliver directly from their Hatay warehouse. CORE partnered with YSYD to support these immediate resource coordination efforts and distribute food kits, kitchen sets, and hygiene kits to tent communities where more formal government support is out of reach
How did CORE support the recovery needs of earthquake-affected communities in Turkey?
In the months following the tragedy, CORE worked to identify additional ways to support the recovery of those devastated by the earthquakes. Widespread damage to critical infrastructure and vast displacement left many people without access to income-generating activities, among many other basic needs.
In partnership with YSYD, CORE initiated a program to financially support small business and greenhouse owners whose livelihoods were jeopardized due to the earthquakes. In total, CORE provided more than $100,000 to 58 small businesses and 19 greenhouses to help owners receive skill-upgrade and entrepreneurship training and ultimately regain their financial independence following the devastation.
Stories
On February 6, 2023, in southwestern Türkiye, there was a jolt and roar. Then, the world violently pushed forward and pulled back. The violent shaking went on for a harrowing 75 seconds. Millions of buildings were damaged, many of them beyond repair, leaving over 50,000 people dead and 3 million without a place to call home.
In the Hassa district of Hatay Province, CORE worked with the local municipality, partner organization YSYD, and the Chamber of Craftsmen to rebuild economic capacity in the region by supporting the restoration of small businesses and agricultural ventures led by women entrepreneurs, directly affecting more than 350 people.
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