Friend —

I'm writing to you from Türkiye, where I arrived over the weekend to report on how my IRC colleagues are responding to last week's devastating earthquake. I wanted to personally reach out directly to supporters like you for an update.

It has been a long, difficult week after the powerful earthquake — and nearly 2,700 aftershocks — hit Türkiye and Syria. The catastrophe in both countries has been massive — collapsed buildings, over 80,000 people injured, and more than 30,000 lives lost.
A woman stands amongst the rubble in northern Syria after the February 6 earthquake. She and her family just made it out of the house before it collapsed to the ground. Her neighbors helped them get out and without their help, she said, she would have lost her children that night.

Amidst the destruction and recent freezing cold temperatures, search–and–rescue crews have raced to find survivors — and our IRC teams in both Syria and Türkiye have been working day and night to assist with recovery, provide emergency medical support, and distribute urgently needed supplies.

What I've seen during my time here is gut wrenching. People are traumatized, and the road to recovery looks long.

But thanks to the exceptional generosity of compassionate supporters like you, this has been an incredibly fast emergency response. As of today we have:
Launched two mobile health teams who are working quickly to assist with the health needs of survivors of the earthquake.
Provided basic items such as household kits, dignity kits for women and girls and hygiene supplies.
Distributed multi–purpose cash assistance inside northwest Syria, with plans to reach 4,200 households in the next 2 weeks.
This is a time of hardship and grief among communities who have already endured so much. Aleppo, the site of some of the most intense violence during the ongoing conflict in Syria, was especially hard–hit by the earthquake. More than 4 million people were already in need in the region, particularly in northwest Syria.
Unfathomable loss in cities like Gaziantep, Türkiye, pictured above.

Damage to roads, bridges, and infrastructure has made it even more difficult to meet the immense humanitarian needs. As displaced people work to rebuild in the coming days and weeks, one of the challenges we're seeing is direct, sustainable and timely access to affected areas across Syria.

The IRC has been working in Syria since 2012, and we are committed to working with communities here for as long as it takes to recover from this earthquake. Our work includes launching mobile health teams, economic recovery through cash distribution, and mental health counseling for those who have experienced trauma.

As always, we are grateful for the generous support of people like you who make this work possible. If you can, please use this link to make an emergency gift today to support immediate relief efforts and long–term recovery in Türkiye, Syria, and around the world: [link removed]

Thank you for your compassion and attention. I'll be in touch soon.

— Elias

Elias Abu Ata
Regional Senior Communications and Media Manager
International Rescue Committee
International Rescue Committee
122 East 42nd Street, New York, New York 10168-1289 USA
To ensure future delivery of IRC e-mails, please add our reply address [email protected] to your Address Book.
Click here for U.S. federal and state compliance notices: [link removed]
Manage my preferences: [link removed] or unsubscribe: [link removed].