Global – Entreculturas, Alboan and JRS mobilise for earthquake-affected children in Turkey and Syria
With the Jesuit Refugee Service, which has been present in Aleppo for ten years, two other NGOs have set up an emergency protocol.
Entreculturas, 8 February 2023 - The number of people killed and injured by the terrible earthquakes that have hit Syria and Turkey continues to rise. In response to this situation, the international community and civil society have begun mobilising to support the victims. This is the case of the NGOs Entreculturas and Alboan, which, together with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), have launched an emergency protocol to assist the most affected people, especially in the Aleppo area.
The NGOs point out that the situation of the population is critical, as the region was already hard hit by the war in Syria and by a major humanitarian crisis that has been causing the forced displacement of thousands of people for years. To this already harsh reality, we must now add the destruction of thousands of homes that have forced families to stay on the streets, suffering the consequences of the harsh winter.
"It is urgent to attend to the population, to provide them with the essentials, hygiene services, drinking water and psychological support," says Asunción Taboada, Humanitarian Action Officer at Entreculturas. A devastating natural catastrophe that significantly affects children who, in many cases, are left alone while waiting for a necessary, urgent, and desired family reunification.
Entreculturas, together with its partner organisation JRS, has been present in the Aleppo area for more than ten years, providing health services and distributing medicines to the neediest among internally displaced people, local community members, and returnees living in precarious conditions. A particular focus was placed on children who were out of school, working in exploitative conditions to support their families and suffering from malnutrition and respiratory diseases.
In the face of this catastrophe, JRS, far from abandoning its work in the area, has decided to step forward, as "now, more than ever, we must continue to stand by her side, intensifying our efforts and solidarity to keep her safe". With these words, Mark McGuinness reaffirms their commitment to the Aleppo community. On the ground, the JRS Middle East and Africa Programme Officer recounts the immediate response in the aftermath of the earthquake: "Even though regular project activity is impossible, the community centres we have are open to receive and support people who have lost everything.
Information and images from Entreculturas
Source: jesuitas.lat
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