Dozens of people – including many children – are sleeping in the open on the streets without cover (or with makeshift covers) around fires. Families are sleeping on the ground, without shelter.
- A Darna partner staff member
Aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey - Reuters
On Monday 6 February, an initial magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit in southern Turkey close to the border with northern Syria. A second 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck 9 hours later, with aftershocks following.
Two weeks after, on Monday 20 February, two more earthquakes struck in Turkey and were felt strongly in areas of Northwest Syria. People reported more buildings collapsing and widespread panic.
Thousands of people have died, with many more injured in the aftermath of the earthquakes. But it is not too late to save lives. Christian Aid is already working with partners in Syria to provide shelter, winter kits, food and clean water to people seeking shelter. Every prayer, every gift, every action brings hope to people hit by disaster.
To save lives and give people hope, please donate what you can today.
It's not too late to save lives
Every prayer, every gift, every action brings hope to people hit by disaster. By joining us, you can help people in need rebuild their lives.
Our response in Syria
Christian Aid has been working with local partners across Syria for decades and responding to the Syrian crisis since 2012.
Our partners have been among the first responders in Syria since the earthquakes struck. Despite the challenges, they’ve been working with locally-led relief efforts in Northwest Syria.
Christian Aid Partner Darna at a food distribution in one of the collective shelters in NW Syria - Darna
As we work with partners to increase the scale of our operations, we have been training new staff to respond to the local needs of people impacted by the earthquake.
Immediate priorities have been:
- Winterization kits including blankets, mattresses, food parcels and heating material. Partners had already procured £40,000 worth of winterization kits using Christian Aid's funding prior to the earthquake. 665 of these kits have been delivered so far.
- Preparing shelters to help people find some safety indoors from the weather.
- Delivering food and clean water.
- Mental health support.
- Cash for local communities.
The vast majority of people in northwest Syria are already in desperate need of aid after years of conflict. Again and again the public dig deep to help people in their time of need but every penny makes a huge difference to support people rebuild their lives.
- Rosamond Bennett, Chief Executive, Christian Aid Ireland.
47,000 people dead with numbers expected to rise
Across the two countries, more than 54,000 buildings have been destroyed or damaged, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless in freezing winter conditions.
Even before this devastating earthquake, there were over 4 million people in need of aid in Northwest Syria. Nearly 3 million people have been displaced by the long conflict in Syria, 80% of whom are women and children.
Now extreme weather events and the spiralling costs of food and fuel prices due to ongoing conflicts are making the situation even worse.
People are facing a crisis on crisis.
Darna partner staff members distributing heating material and ready-to-eat meals to families - Darna
Prayer for the Turkey and Syria Earthquake Appeal
God of time and space, we cry to you for your children - our neighbours - in southern Turkey and northern Syria, following the earthquake that has devastated hundreds of lives. Only they and you know what it is like to experience such trauma in the middle of the night.
We give thanks for the aid that is already being given and for the promises of help that have been made by many nations.
Comfort, we pray,
those who are trapped in collapsed buildings;
those who have lost loved ones;
those who wait for news and
those digging through rubble to save others.
Grant the gift of hope so that those caught between life and death know that you are with them and that others are ready to support them as they seek a future that overshadows the experiences of today.
We ask this in the Name of Jesus, who endured so much for love of them.
Amen
By joining us, you can help people in need rebuild their lives.
People are facing a crisis on crisis. It is not too late to save lives.