[Turkey]Preparing to distribute “summerization” packages such as fans and mosquito nets to earthquake victims in the southeast of Turkiye.

While more than five months have passed since two devastating earthquakes hit southeastern Turkey, many people still live in tents or temporary housing in disaster-hit areas. With the arrival of summer, Peace Winds is now preparing delivery of “summarization” packages to help ease the lives of disaster victims.

Peace Winds, with financial support from Japan Platform, has been distributing food and other daily necessities in the villages of Tanişma and Madenboyu in Hatay Province, one of the hardest hit areas. According to the surveys, many of the 8,000 people in Tanişma and 4,500 people in Madenboyu are still living in tents or temporary housing because their homes were completely or partially destroyed by the earthquakes.
 

 

 

 
Subsequent visits and surveys have revealed that the minimum necessary living supplies for summer are also insufficient.
 
PWJ staff visited several families living in tents, many of which are barely big enough to accommodate three single beds, but are nevertheless being occupied by up to nine people. Daytime temperatures inside those tents regularly exceed 45 degrees celsius. And while temporary container dwellings are slowly starting to appear, these are few and far between and are only marginally more spacious and cooler. Consequently many families in such temporary dwellings spend the daytime hours outside, only returning at sundown when temperatures are slightly less stifling.
 
 

 
Another problem they face is that some tents have no groundsheets, meaning mosquitoes and other insects and even snakes can be a nuisance.
 
The resident said her husband and nine others share four small tents, one of which she had set up as a kitchen. “I am sorry, it is very small and primitive,” she said as she showed us the interior of the ad hoc kitchen, which also had no groundsheet and only had one gas ring burner and a few cooking utensils and items of crockery.
 
 

 
Residents we visited in Tanisma had similar stories to tell. One family, whose house was badly damaged and awaiting demolition, had set up tents on their farmland, where small trees and mulberry bushes provided some shade. “The evenings are sometimes unbearable, especially if there is no breeze,” said the son, adding that fans would at least help to circulate the air inside the stuffy tents.
 
With these conditions in mind, Peace Winds in consultation with local leaders concluded that the most needed items included shading, water storage vessels, fans and cooler boxes. Mosquitos and other insects are a constant inconvenience, not to mention a potential health risk, making mosquito nets and groundsheets other indispensable items.
 
Peace Winds has decided to extend our activities to include two more communities nearby, namely Avsuyu and Bozhuyuk, in addition to Tanisma and Madenboyu. We calculated that a total of 2,450 “summerization” sets would be required and hope to deliver them by the end of July.
 
We would like to thank you and ask for your continued support.