DEC charities begin to rebuild lives of children affected by earthquakes as donations reach £84 million in six days

More than 7 million children have been affected by the earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria, throwing their family lives, homes and education into chaos. 
 
The United Nations said that 4.6 million children in Turkey and 2.5 million in Syria lived in the 10 affected provinces. UN agency Unicef said it feared that "many thousands" had died and millions will need humanitarian support. 
 
The DEC’s Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal is supporting families and children through its member charities and their local partners in both countries. The appeal has now raised £84 million in six days, including £5 million matched by the UK Government through the UK Aid Match scheme. 
 
DEC charities and their local partners are providing urgent lifesaving assistance - food, water, shelter, and warm clothing - for children and families in both Turkey and Syria. 
 
Protecting the most vulnerable children is also a priority as lone children who have been separated from their families or orphaned are at risk of exploitation.  
 
There are a large number of unaccompanied children including those pulled from the rubble having lost their immediate families, according to DEC charity World Vision. 
 
Supporting children’s mental health is also vital as they have been through such traumatic experiences. Safe spaces to play and mobile units addressing psychosocial needs are being established. 
 
Save the Children is distributing temporary shelter tents and essential emergency relief items, including blankets, warm clothing, heaters, baby food and nappies. 
 
One of the children being helped is Ward*, age 6. He was fast asleep when the earthquake struck at his home in Syria. He was hit on the head and buried under rubble as his home collapsed. His father managed to rescue him, but two of Ward’s siblings were killed.  Save the Children is helping Ward and his family with first aid and food.

James Denselow, Head of Conflict & Humanitarian at Save the Children UK, said: “The earthquakes have had a devastating impact on some 7 million children’s lives. Many have died, many have been injured, many more have lost family members, friends or their homes. Survivors are now facing a second disaster left without adequate shelter, food, safe drinking water, or sanitation facilities such as toilets and clean water in bitterly cold conditions. The international community must do all it can, as fast as it can, in order to prevent a second humanitarian disaster.” 
 
Johan Mooij, World Vision’s Syria Response Director, said: “Syrian children are again at risk of being forgotten following the aftermath of this unimaginable crisis. It is not enough that they have suffered from almost 12 years of war and destruction, this massive earthquake has added another complexity to their young lives, in certain cases even taking their loved ones from them. It is urgent that we address the needs of unaccompanied children, to ensure they can still receive the care they desperately need in north-west Syria.

Examples of DEC members work helping children include: 

• In north-west Syria, ActionAid is working through a local partner to set up safe spaces and a roaming mobile unit to reach children in remote areas with mental health support.  
• Save the Children has deployed an emergency response team and has started activities with partners on the ground. In Hatay, in Turkey, one of the most severely impacted areas, hot meals are being given to approximately 500 people located across sports centres that are being used as temporary shelters.  
• In northwest Syria, Save the Children is preparing to deliver aid through existing partners while in the north-east, teams have distributed blankets and sleeping mats to 100 children and women whose houses have been significantly damaged and are not safe to return to.  
• Save the Children will help reunite unaccompanied children with their families or support safe alternative care arrangements if needed and provide psychological support to children and their carers to help them overcome traumatic experience 
• Action Against Hunger has deployed emergency response teams in affected locations in Adana, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Malatya in Turkey, and also in Syria to conduct needs assessments, including the establishment of mother and baby safe spaces 
• Christian Aid is working through partners in rural areas in Syria including on child protection. 
• International Rescue Committee is setting up safe spaces for women and children affected in Turkey.  

DEC Director of Programmes & Accountability Madara Hettiarachchi said: “Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in this crisis. They must be completely bewildered by what has happened. 

“DEC charities are providing urgent life-saving assistance such as food and shelter and essential items including nappies but they will also be assisting children with safe spaces and mental health support in the weeks and months to come. 

“Your donations can help children with food, urgent medical care and help improve their well-being.” 

For more information, please visit the DEC website.

ENDS   

Notes to editors:    

Media enquiries please call 020 7387 0200 or 07734 653616 (out of hours).    

A collection of images and video footage of the aftermath of the earthquake and DEC charities responding is available here.    

About the DEC: The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities at times of crisis overseas to raise funds quickly and efficiently. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need our help and our mission is to save, protect and rebuild lives through effective humanitarian response. The DEC’s 15 member charities are: Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.        

Fourteen of the DEC’s 15 members are either responding or planning to respond in Turkey and Syria and will receive funds from this appeal. Some may work through trusted local partners. They are Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.      

Through UK Aid Match the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) gives the British public the opportunity to have a say in how the UK aid budget is spent whilst boosting the impact of the very best British charities to change and save the lives of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.     

UK Aid Match has increased the impact of a number of DEC appeals to help those in need around the world, including most recently Pakistan Floods Appeal and Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, both in 2022.  The UK matched up to £25 million of public donations to DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal - the largest commitment ever made to a DEC appeal through UK Aid Match.    

Enquiries about UK Aid Match and UK Government support for Turkey/Syria should be directed to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Newsdesk. Please email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk.      

How to donate:        

Online: dec.org.uk      

Phone: 0370 60 60 610     

Text to give/SMS: for press releases: text SUPPORT to 70787 to donate £10. Other partners should use the specific text codes they have been provided with by the DEC.     

Donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office, or send a cheque by post to: DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal, PO Box 999, London EC3A 3AA.