TURKEY – Three sizeable earthquakes and numerous aftershocks have rocked ten historic cities in Turkey. The destruction is overwhelming, and the people still aren’t out of danger yet. But we are there sharing God’s love in partnership with friends like you.
Supplies Are Slow, But We’re Meeting Needs
Operation Blessing volunteer Amanda said, “There’s been multiple earthquakes since we’ve been on the ground. So it got determined that it’s not safe to stay inside.”
Where we are on the ground in the city of Hatay—the most devastated city—residents are at risk of being struck by yet another earthquake. Right now, there is only one open road into the city. That means the journey for incoming supplies is slow and treacherous. Because the level of need in the city is so great, Operation Blessing turned our warehouse into a distribution center. As word gets around that help is available, people have been flocking here.
Amanda said, “The need is everything. These people have nothing. Most of them are living in tents or their cars. They have no hygiene products. Most of them left their house in the middle of the night because it happened while they were sleeping. They have no shoes on their feet; they have no socks; they have nothing.”
Our Director of International Disaster Relief, Diego Traverso, updated us about the severity of the situation.
“IDP is Internally Displaced Person. Turkish people are IDPs in this moment.”
Teams Sharing God’s Love Through Tangible Aid
Estimates vary between 1 and 2 million displaced people—people left homeless by this disaster like Hakan Hamurcu. He and his family now live in tents and temporary structures outside his dilapidated home. He’s forced to stare at the unwanted yet familiar scene of destruction that has overtaken Turkey’s beautiful landscape.
Even in the chaos, Operation Blessing remains steadfast because of generous friends like you. We’re committed to our mission to relieve those who are suffering and share God’s love.
Diego said, “We’re here to help people first. Water, shelter, food, medicines. But there are some people that have been asking [for prayer]. Like, ‘oh, you guys are Christian, can you pray for me?'” And our teams are happy to pray for and encourage those whose spirits are weak and point them towards the eternal hope found in Jesus Christ.
It has been weeks since the initial earthquake devastated the region. Thankfully, Operation Blessing has been on the ground since then and will continue to be for weeks to come. We’re hopeful that we’ll leave behind in Turkey the necessary tools for people who are suffering to one day be able to rebuild their lives.
Stay tuned for more information about Operation Blessing’s Turkey response. To donate to disaster relief efforts, visit: https://www.ob.org/disasterrelief/
