Turkiye Earthquake Relief Efforts

Dear TPF Donors,

Three years ago, the earth shook —and left millions across Türkiye facing unimaginable loss. But in the days, months, and years that followed, something remarkable happened: you showed up. Your generosity has been a lifeline. It has rebuilt more than structures — it has restored dignity, sparked hope, and quietly transformed countless lives in ways that will echo for generations.

Together, we have raised more than $20M and granted $16,888,311 to 96 local and national organizations, supporting 187 impactful projects that have reached millions across Türkiye. This report is our way of bringing you into the lives your generosity has touched — and sharing the profound impact you have made possible together.

Healing Minds, Restoring Hope

In Hatay — one of the regions most severely affected by the earthquakes — children, families, and individuals carry wounds that cannot be seen. The grief of losing loved ones, the anxiety of displacement, the silence of a child who no longer knows how to play.

With your support, World Human Relief's Hatay UTOMER Project has provided trauma-focused mental health and psychosocial support to survivors through individual psychotherapy, family counseling, and community workshops. By March 2026, the project had reached 270 beneficiaries — including 133 individuals in long-term psychotherapy and 137 participants in psychosocial workshops — exceeding every original target.

"Finding a Path Through Grief"

She was five years old when the earthquake took her father and two brothers. Trapped under rubble for more than a day with her mother, and then separated from her while her mother received medical treatment, she returned to a world that looked nothing like the one she had known. As months passed, she began asking questions no child should have to ask. Her mother, heartbroken and overwhelmed, struggled to find the words.

Through 12 sessions of play therapy at Hatay UTOMER, this little girl found something precious: a safe space. Using play, storytelling, and therapeutic activities, she began to put words — and then feelings — to her loss. Her therapists watched as her emotional expression deepened, her engagement grew, and she found the courage to talk about her family. Her journey continues. But the progress she has made is a testament to what becomes possible when children are not left to grieve alone.

Looking ahead, World Human Relief will continue expanding trauma-informed care across the earthquake region, strengthening community partnerships and ensuring long-term access to mental health services for the most vulnerable — because healing takes time, and no one should face it without support.

Children Building the Future

In the aftermath of disaster, children are often the last to be asked what they need — and the first to feel the effects of decisions made without them. In Adyaman, where earthquake reconstruction is reshaping entire neighborhoods, the City Detective's Playful Adyaman project did something quietly revolutionary: it asked children what kind of city they wanted to grow up in. By May 2026, the project had engaged 849 children across workshops and a Children's Day festival, giving them the tools to map their neighborhoods, identify challenges, and develop real proposals for safer, more inclusive public spaces. Their ideas were compiled into a policy brief and presented directly to the Mayor of Adyaman and municipal departments.

"From Survivors to City Makers"

Following the earthquakes, the children of Adyaman lost more than their homes. They lost their parks, their safe routes to school, the familiar corners of their neighborhoods. As cranes and construction crews moved in, no one thought to ask the children what they had lost — or what they dreamed of building.

Playful Adyaman changed that. In workshops, children mapped their streets, named the dangers they faced, and designed solutions. Their policy brief — full of ideas for traffic calming, accessible sidewalks, shaded pathways, and child-friendly spaces — was presented to city leadership. For many of these children, it was the first time they understood that their experiences matter. That their voices can shape the city around them. That they are not just inhabitants of the future — they are its architects.

"Reimagining Safe Routes After Disaster"

As families moved from temporary shelters into new neighborhoods, children found themselves navigating unfamiliar streets — speeding vehicles, broken sidewalks, crossings without markings. Getting to school had become an act of courage.

In workshops, children didn't just describe these dangers — they designed solutions: pedestrian-friendly streets, traffic calming near schools, improved lighting, accessible paths. Their proposals for one school's surrounding streets were reviewed by the Mayor, who committed to exploring implementation. 

Playful Adyaman will continue expanding into schools and underserved communities, supporting a Children's Advisory Council model, and working with local authorities to bring children's ideas to life. Because a city rebuilt with children in mind is a city built for everyone.

Thank You

These stories — of a five-year-old finding words for grief, of a child reclaiming her voice, of hundreds of young people shaping the city they will grow up in — are your stories too. They exist because you chose to give.

The road to recovery in earthquake-affected Türkiye is long. But with every project funded, every community supported, and every life reached, we move further down that road together. TPF remains committed to investing in local organizations, community-driven solutions, and the long-term resilience of the people and places your generosity has touched.

With gratitude,

Team TPF