Earthquake Turkey and Syria: Hot Meals for 15,000 People Daily

11 February 2023

Together with the Johanniter partner organisation MAPs, Johanniter provides 15,000 people in the Gaziantep area and in northern Syria with warm meals.

In a first emergency relief measure, the Johanniter team yesterday purchased food to provide hot meals to 15,000 people daily in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, together with long-time partner MAPs.

"People have been living in freezing cold for days without electricity or heating, so the daily hot soups also help to warm up a bit," says Sevin Ibrahim, Johanniter Program Manager. The food is distributed to people in mosques and schools where people sought shelter after the earthquake. "No one is sleeping in their homes anymore. They would rather all stay together in the shelters," Sevin continued. This is because smaller earth tremors are still occurring every day.

In order to also provide for the people in the hard-hit province of Hatay, Johanniter and MAPs will set up more soup kitchens here in the coming days.

Relief in Northern Syria

In addition to acute aid in Turkey, Johanniter will focus on helping people in Syria. Especially the district of Afrin in northwestern Syria has been severely affected by the disaster, as it is located in close proximity to the epicenter of the earthquake. Up to 580 people have died here alone, with people still under the rubble.

"The injured do not have access to life-saving medical care, as there is a lack of medical supplies and fuel for generators," report staff from Johanniter partner organisation BAHAR.

Together with BAHAR, Johanniter is currently evaluating the delivery of medical supplies, food, blankets, and heating 

material. Together with their partner MAPs, additional soup kitchens are to be built in order to provide the people with food on a daily basis.

More Johanniter staff in the disaster area

In addition to the five-person emergency relief team, another emergency response volunteer is traveling to Turkey today. He is part of the European Union's team of experts that supports the coordination of EU civil protection units.