Aid for Families in Syria

Early in the morning on February 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkiye and northwest Syria causing massive damage. Later that day a second earthquake of 7.5 magnitude struck the region, increasing the level of impact.

More than 7,200 deaths and 10,000 injuries have been reported in northwest Syria. At least 8.8 million people have been affected in Syria, the majority of whom relied on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs prior to the earthquake. This is an extremely vulnerable population and this emergency has added tremendous pressure to an already overstretched response.

GlobalMedic has been responding in Syria since 2014 and has been mobilizing to support communities affected by the earthquakes.

We have procured 17 locally made water purification systems in Turkiye with the same specifications as our AquaResponse systems. We are training our local partners on the operation and maintenance of these systems and they are then transported across the border for use inside Syria.

Our volunteers in Canada are preparing Family Emergency Kits and Emergency Food Kits to ship and distribute to affected families. Family Emergency Kits are designed to help families address the critical issues that they face in the wake of disaster. Each Family Emergency Kit contains a Point of Use Water Purification Solution, and essential hygiene items. These kits can provide an entire family with safe, clean drinking water and help to keep families clean and healthy, which can prevent further illness. They also contain solar lights. Emergency Food Kits contain a mixture of culturally appropriate pantry items to supplement a families’ diet. We are also adding in water purification tablets and solar lights to the food kits to provide additional resources to affected families. We have shipped 6,400 Emergency Food Kits and 2,880 Family Emergency Kits to our partners in Syria.

We will be continuing to respond to needs as they emerge. All funds raised will go towards the distribution of Family Emergency Kits and Emergency Food Kits.