How to help people affected by the earthquakes in Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan

The tragic images coming from Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan after the earthquakes that have shaken these countries have caused the international community to provide humanitarian aid to respond to the millions of people affected by the catastrophe. The earthquakes have left numbers that hurt: more than 7,200 deaths and around 35,000 injured, according to the official balance sheets, which are still provisional. Although hopes are dwindling with each passing hour, rescue teams continue to work against the clock to find more survivors among the rubble.

The tragedy of this magnitude, which has also caused incalculable material damage, has led numerous organizations to be activated to send humanitarian aid to try to alleviate the terrible consequences of the worst earthquakes in decades in the region. In addition, this Wednesday, the Catalan Government has convened the Catalan Committee for Emergency Humanitarian Aid with the aim of coordinating the response from Catalonia.

The humanitarian emergency situation in these countries, aggravated by the low temperatures, has mobilized the public response, channeled by several organizations that are working hard to respond to the catastrophe. As has already happened following similar situations, such as the Ukrainian War, it is necessary to take into account the recommendations for acting in emergency cases such as these. Emphasize, above all, that it is necessary to be well informed before acting and to prioritize financial contributions and collaboration with the organizations that work on the ground.

Anyone who wants to help out with the emergency affecting Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan can do so through these organizations, which have opened avenues of collaboration to help these countries.

• Action Against Hunger

The organization has reacted quickly and has already sent its emergency teams to the affected areas, with the aim of assessing the situation and serving as many people as possible in these first days.

Thus, on the ground, the international entity has a unit made up of an emergency coordinator, a logistician, a water coordinator, sanitation and hygiene coordinator and a health and nutrition coordinator, among others, with the aim to manage and coordinate the logistical response to the earthquake, including actions to send urgent water, hygiene products, as well as shelter, nutritional and logistical materials, among others.

Anyone who wants more information or collaborate with Action Against Hunger can do so through the organization's website.

• ACNUR and UNRWA

The UN Refugee Agency is already present in the areas most affected by the earthquakes to provide a coordinated response to the tragedy and help save as many people as possible. In Syria, for example, it is already distributing emergency supplies that are essential right now, especially because of the low temperatures there, such as thermal blankets, mattresses and other essential items. To contribute and get to know the organization's work better, visit its website.

On the other hand, the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees has also mobilized to face the tragedy that affects millions of people. Several Palestinian refugee camps are in the most affected areas, and the organization's teams are already on the ground working hard to help those affected. The agency has opened all avenues of collaboration for citizens who want to lend a hand to alleviate the emergency.

• Càritas

The organization is also working hard to attend to the people affected by the severe earthquakes on the ground. Caritas Turkey and Syria have already mobilized to help in everything possible. "We will mobilize with all the Christian organizations to bring help to the affected populations", said the Chaldean bishop of Aleppo and former president of Cáritas Síria, Mons. Antoine Audo.

Likewise, the organization has opened up the possibility of making donations through its website.

• Red Crescent

From the very moment of the first earthquake, the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent have been working on the front line of response to alleviate the terrible consequences of the earthquakes. Thus, they are supporting search and rescue operations, providing first aid, carrying out emergency medical evacuations and transporting injured people to hospitals, among others.

The organization asks for the cooperation of the public to continue helping in the rescue tasks and care for the affected people with health care, psychosocial care, shelter and coverage of basic needs, among others. More information and ways to make contributions through their website.

• Educo

The organization dedicated to children and education around the world is another that has mobilized to help the victims of the tragedy and remembers that in the face of emergencies and natural disasters like this, responding quickly and quickly is crucial to save lives

Through the ChildFund Alliance, Educo has set up teams in Syria so that they can respond immediately and begin the distribution of basic necessities and other materials to meet the needs of the population, especially boys and girls. To collaborate and consult more information about the organization's work, you can visit its website.

• Catalan Fund for Development Cooperation

The Catalan Fund has launched an emergency campaign to support people affected by the earthquakes in Kurdistan, Syria and Turkey. It calls for collaboration to help the victims, in a region heavily punished by the war. Currently, the entity is in the process of identifying emergency responses and allied entities during the post-emergency reconstruction phase.

To allocate funds to the emergency campaign, donations can be sent through two bank accounts that the organization has opened.

• Oxfam

With each passing day, the NGO is intensifying its presence in the areas devastated by the earthquakes to offer support to the affected population. From Oxfam Intermón they assure that they are evaluating the situation to be able to provide all the help possible. To make this possible, the organization calls on the public to collaborate and make their contribution.

Oxfam KEDV (Oxfam in Turkey), for example, is working in partnership with 80 women's cooperatives in the ten Turkish provinces most affected by the earthquake and is currently evaluating response plans with them. An Oxfam team has already traveled to the affected areas to assess the response as part of the official National Disaster Response Platform.

Donations to the organization, which can be made in several ways, are made through the organization's website. "Every second is vital", the organization insists.

• Save The Children

Save the Children is working intensively with its partner organizations and the governments of the affected territories to assess the magnitude of the damage and offer the support that the population, and especially children, need.

The organization's intervention includes, among others, shelter and distribution of essential items, including tents, blankets, mattresses, warm clothes, tarpaulins, heaters and emergency kits; distribution of cash and food; support to medical institutions with the distribution of medicines, fuel and assistive devices; hygiene kits; psychological support; child protection services and temporary spaces for boys and girls, as well as educational kits, among others.

To continue with this support, the organization calls for collaboration with the emergency fund. Donations are channeled through the organization's website.

• Unicef

The organization is working from the first minute to support the people affected, especially the most vulnerable, such as children. In Turkey, work is now focused on search and rescue, in full coordination with local authorities. Unicef's support includes hygiene kits, blankets and winter clothing. In Syria, the emergency response focuses on the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene; child protection services; nutrition and education, among others.

Likewise, the NGO works everywhere to protect unaccompanied children and reunite those who have been separated from their families, also providing psychosocial support and working to ensure that they can return to school as soon as possible.

The organization has made several options available to citizens to collaborate with the organization's emergency fund and support its work in the affected countries.

• World Vision

The organization, with more than seventy years of experience and a presence in nearly a hundred countries around the world, has also overturned to deal with the consequences of last Monday's earthquakes. The organization has been working for years in both Syria and Turkey, through partner organizations, and is now asking for public collaboration to multiply its work and help the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the catastrophe.