By Katrina Wertz | Project Assistant
Dear GlobalGivers,
You are powerful. Two years ago in October of 2011, an earthquake rumbled through the city of Van in Turkey. Mangling, crushing, and devouring buildings, bustling life for Van’s people halted. Their homes were gone, university dormitories and libraries leveled, and food and clothing were immediate needs.
With full support, you stepped in.
Consider these words: “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” The fervor and kindness with which you gave have helped reorient and change lives faced with disaster. Though you probably didn’t know the faces below personally, you decided that giving was the most natural response. From the hard-earned dollars you have given to charity, a Turkish city has been rebuilt. And so Winston Churchill’s words strike the chord of truth. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.
This final report for the Turkey Earthquake Relief Fund is to celebrate the unbelievable recovery the city of Van has been making, and to highlight where the current keys of development lie.
Our partner Turkish Philanthropy Funds is on the ground in the city of Van. TPF has tremendously applied themselves to mobilizing about the community and enacting these 12 changemaking projects:
You can see these projects in a beautiful presentation format by clicking to this Prezi website: http://prezi.com/a6lgpjnd_odd/van-earthquake-relief-fund/.
From a call with Senay Ataselim, project leader of Turkish Philanthropy Funds, even more information has been gathered. The government has started a lot of new developments in the city. Because of the earthquake, funds are coming to the city and the rebuilding efforts have made extensive progress. However, needs still exist. A unique result has also surfaced because of the earthquake. In the two years since the natural disaster, usually invisible socio-economic problems have come to light. Previously, one might have heard about them but not really paid attention. The earthquake changed that. Immigration from the southeast has increased the unemployment rate in Van, and families are such that one family represents 10-15 people. Parents have responded by trying to marry off their daughters at a young age in order to help support the family.
Recently, Turkish Philanthropy Funds has committed itself to providing job opportunities to young girls so they can bring the money to their families and not have to be married off so young. Additionally, TPF is supporting workshops for job opportunities and education for the girls. Here, they gain literacy and finish high school so they can go to college. TPF gives scholarships to the girls.
Through the terrible onslaught of the earthquake, Van faced what seemed like an insurmountable process to rebuild themselves. Through you who partnered with GlobalGiving, who partnered with Turkish Philanthropy Funds, who reached the Turkish people, the city is being given new life. No one could have faced this without you. With utmost encouragement and gratitude, thank you!
Warm wishes,
Katrina & the GlobalGiving team
If you feel curious, open up Turkish Philanthropy Funds’ Annual Report and explore in greater detail the copious ways they have stood by their community and rebuilt it back.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
When a disaster strikes, recovery efforts led by people who live and work in affected communities are often overlooked and underfunded. GlobalGiving is changing this reality. Since 2004, we've been shifting decision-making power to crises-affected communities through trust-based grantmaking and support.
We make it easy, quick, and safe to support people on the ground who understand needs in their communities better than anyone else.
They were there long before the news cameras arrived, and they’ll be there long after the cameras leave. They know how to make their communities more resilient to future disasters, and they’re already hard at work. GlobalGiving puts donations and grants directly into their hands. Because the status quo—which gives the vast majority of funding to a few large organizations—doesn’t make sense.
Questions about this project? Contact us
