Give Support to 800 Syrian Refugee Families

The war in Syria has caused unimaginable suffering since 2011. It is one of the greatest refugee disasters of our time. The escalation of violence in northern Syria since October 2019 has further exacerbated the humanitarian plight of the population: millions of people have been displaced from their homes and urgently need humanitarian assistance. They are seeking protection in Syria and neighboring Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. We have been active in the region for years and are standing by the people. Even now, when the novel coronavirus will further exacerbate the situation of many millions of refugees.

The vast majority of people in Syria depend on humanitarian aid to survive. Eight out of ten Syrians live below the poverty line. Hunger in Syria - fueled by an economic crisis and massive inflation - has increased significantly over the past year, with an additional 4.5 million people lacking regular access to nutritious food compared to 2019 - a total of more than 12 million people. "Our partners tell us that the poorest families have been reducing their daily meals for a long time," reports Martin Keßler, head of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe. "Hundreds of thousands of children are malnourished - with devastating consequences for their physical and mental development."

With more than six million people still fleeing far from their homes inside Syria, the relief agency has successively shifted the focus of its work to these people over the course of the war. "Last year, 20 percent more people were in need of protective shelter than in 2019," Keßler says. "That encourages us to continue on our path: We need to repair and renovate destroyed homes so that displaced families who previously had to live in ruined buildings, for example, can find a safe home again."
Syria is struggling with several crises at the same time: acts of war, a completely destroyed infrastructure, the consequences of the Corona pandemic and an economic crisis - partly exacerbated by international sanctions - are giving people a hard time and robbing them of even their last savings. "Many people can afford neither warm clothes nor heating oil," says Keßler.

In order to stand by those affected and provide vital aid in Syria, we rely on your support. We are there for the people, even if the disaster receives little or no media attention.

Please support us with your donation. This help us to help on the ground and saving lives.

Thank you so much

Yours

Michael Tuerk

Elham lives with her grown up son Najib and his family again in their home village Ad Dweir, near Homs. Before the war she had two cows and produced milk and cheese for the local market. But then they lost everything. Only some heavy doors remained in their house because they were useless as firewood. With the support of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, the apartment was made more secure and habitable again: Windows and doors were replaced, the floors were tiled, a sink and above all a water tank were installed.
Elham is still unemployed, so she is planting the small piece of land next to her house. But she is open-minded and tries hard to find employment and to build up new qualifications. As soon as possible she wants to be able to earn her own living again: "All women here in the village should be given the opportunity to work and feed their families. When asked what returning to her village means to her, she stresses that she likes village life - the people, the farming, the animals. "I always want to have a house full of people and welcome everyone into my home." This wish did not remain a dream for Elham. Already today neighbors come again and again to visit and sit together with Elham around the small, warming stove.

In the tenth year of the Syrian crisis, the humanitarian situation in many regions remains poor. Both IDPs and host communities lack basic necessities such as food, clean water and health care.

Together with our partners we strengthen needy families. 500 women can participate in the Cash for Work program and knit winter clothing such as gloves, caps and scarves. In this way, 2,000 school children will have warming clothes and the women will have an income in the coming winter.

In order to give those affected a protective shelter, we are rehabilitating more than 100 housing units. For example, doors, windows and walls are being installed. In addition, water pipes and sanitary facilities will be installed.

We support 200 newly displaced families with cash aid. This enables them to cover basic and vital needs.

Thank you so much for your donation. Only with this support we can continue the activities in Syria and the surounding countries. Together we can bulid a better future for the perople in this region!

Yours

Michael Tuerk

In the tenth year of the Syrian crisis, the humanitarian situation in many regions remains poor. Both IDPs and host communities lack basic necessities such as food, clean water and health care.

Tens of thousands of families live in ruined buildings, empty schools and shops, or sleep outdoors in public places and parks. They have no access to aid and are without protection. The need for income opportunities is also particularly high. Together with our partners, we have been active in Syria for years, helping the people and providing urgently needed humanitarian aid.

To give refugees a chance getting some kind of normality in their lives we are offering sewing courses. With this new skills they can ean some money to buy urgent needed items.

In times of corona all sewing machines are disinfected twice a day, and the participants' fever is measured before the course begins. The women receive face masks and disposable gloves. The Syrian Day Centre, where the courses take place, is also cleaned and disinfected every day. So the sewing courses can continue and winter clothing for children and adults can continue to be produced. Together with trained seamstresses, displaced women sew winter clothing such as trousers, skirts and jackets as part of the Cash for Work program. A total of 3,500 sets of adult clothing and 10,000 sets of children's clothing can then be distributed.

Please stay with us and give the refugee families in this area a strong support.

Thank you so much

yours

Mchael Tuerk

After six and a half years, Mohammed returned with his family to his home in Homs. The apartment was badly damaged, two rooms completely burned out, the rest of their belongings looted. The partner organisation of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, GOPA-DERD, installed new windows, doors and electricity in the apartment and fitted a new toilet and the connections for shower, sink and hot water. Mohammed helped, mended the brickwork and painted the walls. He is still working as a nurse and can feed the family. "We are so glad to no longer have to live in overcrowded shelters and to be dependent on the help of others," he says. "We have a home again now, a retreat where we can be together as a family.

The years of displacement and ever new sources of conflict have severely affected the population's resilience. The UN estimates that more than 11 million people in the country are dependent on humanitarian aid. Living conditions continue to be catastrophic, with whole districts and areas of land in ruins.
There are still 6.1 million internally displaced persons and around a third of the population suffers from food insecurity. Living conditions also affect people's health. Measles, typhoid fever and severe diarrhoea are increasingly reported.  
About half of the population is unemployed, with an average life expectancy of only 55 years. According to the latest estimates, 83 percent of the Syrian population lives below the poverty line.

Together with GOPA-DERD, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe is implementing a project that is helping 300 families displaced within the country in the regions of East Ghouta, Homs and Deir-Ez-Zor to return to their homes. Their destroyed or severely damaged homes are first examined and assessed by building surveyors. This is important because the buildings must not be in danger of collapsing or have other serious safety defects. If the assessment is positive, appropriate construction measures are implemented to enable the internally displaced families to return. This includes, for example, the repair of impacts in concrete walls and roofs, the repair of damaged water pipes and sanitary facilities, the installation of windows or the maintenance of electrical connections.
The living space will be restored to such an extent that it offers sufficient protection from the weather and can be heated in winter in a makeshift manner. An average of 2,200 euros is spent on a severely damaged apartment. As early as 2017, a previous project helped 800 families to return to their homes.

Thank you so much that you support our effords in Syria and the other affected countries.

Yours

Michael Tuerk

Manar was born with Spina Bifida, a rare congenital malformation of the spine. She is paraplegic. Thanks to our partner organisation Support to Life, Manar now has a wheelchair that she urgently needs in everyday life. Together with her headmaster, our project partner also helped the family to obtain the necessary papers, which, for example, give them access to health services.

We are currently active in the provinces of Istanbul, Mersin, Mardin, Diyarbakir, Batman and Sanliurfa. We distribute relief supplies to the refugees or give them vouchers and money cards with which they provide for themselves.

We offer them psychosocial support and help in individual cases so that they can cope better with the experiences before and during their flight.

Our partners offer courses and workshops to educate refugees about their rights and how to register with the Turkish authorities.

Turkey is home to the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world: almost 3.5 million people, the majority of whom are women and children. Since 2012 we have been helping the refugees in close cooperation with our Turkish partner organisation Support to Life.

Only about ten percent of Syrian refugees in Turkey live in refugee camps run by the Turkish government. The others live all over the country, but above all in Istanbul and the cities in southern Turkey, on the border with Syria.

The Turkish government is trying to integrate the refugees, but they face great challenges. They often do not speak Turkish, find it difficult to find their way around and are therefore often unable to use state services, or only to a limited extent.

Thank you so much for your strong support!

Yours Michael Tuerk