The grief, suffering and destruction are great. After the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria a week ago, the DEICHMANN Foundation has expanded its emergency aid activities in the earthquake zone. With more than one million euros, it supports established aid organisations in their humanitarian work, half in Turkey and half in northern Syria.
Together with experienced local partners on the ground, action medeor, the world’s emergency pharmacy, is providing rapid emergency aid in the Turkish earthquake zone and supporting mobile health teams. The earthquake victims are also provided with shelter, hot meals, clothing and blankets. The international relief organisation receives support funds from the DEICHMANN Foundation.
Further funds from the DEICHMANN Foundation go to the Darüşşafaka Society, which has been providing education to socially deprived half or full orphans in Turkey for 160 years with its mission “Equal Opportunities in Education”. For children who lost their mother or father in the great earthquake disaster, Darüşşafaka will provide full scholarships, accommodation and qualified education for eight years.
After the earthquake, access to clean water and the need for medical care are of utmost importance to the people. The children’s aid organisation World Vision, which can look back on 70 years of experience in development work, is helping children in need here in the north-western border region of Syria together with local partners on the ground. The DEICHMANN Foundation supports the work of World Vision there.
The humanitarian aid organisation MERATH, a long-standing partner of the DEICHMANN Foundation in refugee aid in Lebanon, also receives financial support. Together with national partner organisations on the ground, the urgent need for food, hygiene articles and winter clothing is being provided in the Syrian earthquake zone for people in need, most of whom are temporarily housed in collective accommodation. The need and the need is great.
Our thoughts and sympathy continue to be with the families of the victims and we wish the many injured to get better soon.
In an uncomplicated and targeted manner, the DEICHMANN Foundation works together with established aid organisations to provide coordinated, effective and sustainable support to those in need. These selected aid organisations are close to the action, have direct access to those in need and many years of experience in their respective fields.
In a first step, the Foundation had already supported the organisation MEDAIR, which specialises in emergency and disaster relief and has been working in Syria – including in the Aleppo region – for years. The first measures could therefore already be initiated. MEDAIR, for example, provides emergency shelters in schools for the most affected and vulnerable population groups and supplies people with medicines, medical supplies for emergency operations as well as access to clean drinking water.
A locally organised truck aid transport from our Turkish national subsidiary, loaded with winter clothing.