In February this year, many people in Türkiye lost everything. An earthquake, registering 7.7 magnitude, devastated 11 provinces and resulted in the deaths of over 50,000 people.
One of SI Türkiye’s greatest wishes in the aftermath was to assist those who had lost so much and to ease their suffering by providing for them.
Thanks to the kindness of our caring sisters from around the globe, we received generous donations and support during these difficult times. We acted quickly so that the donations could immediately assist those who were most greatly impacted by the earthquake.
During the three months following the earthquake, we focused on providing victims with necessities, such as clothing, water, and food. We later developed our projects and aid around three core areas aligned with Soroptimist International of Europe’s goals and beliefs:
Education
We gave 60 students scholarships to help them continue their education. We also provided educational materials for classes being held for young children in a shipping container.
Health
Five girls, whose hands and feet were amputated, received prostheses. Additionally, we gave 300 families hygiene kits, which were particularly essential in the disaster zone. We also made 20 washing machines accessible to women as important sanitation tools.
Women’s economic empowerment
We distributed cotton seeds to farmers, especially female farmers. This crop is the fastest and most productive in the region, thereby allowing those growing it to quickly establish a form of income.
Many buildings collapsed, causing a lack of premises for businesses. We provided a female entrepreneur with a shipping container where she could enhance the population of her few surviving silkworms so that they could produce silk and subsequently generate an income. We also donated containers to a carpet weaving cooperative, so that its female employees, whose homes had been destroyed by the earthquake, could continue to work.
From left to right: Meral Sevim (SI Türkiye General Secretary); Gül Gürses (SI Türkiye Treasurer); Ilgın Atalay (SI Türkiye Vice President); Emel Duman (owner of the silk workshop); Sevil Koca (SI Türkiye President); Sevil Bayçu (SI Türkiye Vice President); Muammer Durak (SI Türkiye Vice President); Melek Berkem (SI Türkiye Vice President)
SI Türkiye stood together in every way possible, with our Union President and board members working in a depot, to pack and send supplies to those earthquake victims living in tents.
We would like to ask you to support our work to recreate the circumstances and possibilities that earthquake victims had prior to the earthquake.
To support the action we are taking to help earthquake survivors, you can make a donation directly to SI Türkiye by using the following account details:
| Bank account
Türkiye Soroptimist Kulüpleri Federasyonu Ziraat Bank Gültepe Branch IBAN no: TR 1900 0100 0822 0148 74595132 Swift Code: TCZBTR2A |
Address for the bank account
Harmantepe Mah Abdi İpekçi Caddesi No 10/1 80640 Kağıthane /İstanbul, Türkiye |
Thank you,
Teşekkür ederim,
Sevil Koca
SI Türkiye President