Disaster Relief

Syria

On 6^th February 2023 a massive earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. Whilst over 60,000 people were killed, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that over 18 million people had lost their homes. On a visit shortly after the earthquake, the WFP Director described “incomprehensible devastation in an apocalyptic landscape”. Entire neighbourhoods were flattened, homes destroyed, schools and shops closed, lives torn apart. And this disaster came on top of 12 years of war. Before the earthquake, more than 15 million people needed humanitarian assistance. It is a disaster upon a disaster.

When the earthquake struck, Jacob’s Well Appeal launched an emergency appeal for money to help supply aid to those immediately affected. Within a couple of weeks we had received over £85,000, the most that we had ever raised in one appeal. We have a long history of working in Syria, through our partner Samara’s Aid. Samara Levy, the founder, told us before the earthquake,
thousands of people were still living through the winter in bombed out buildings with no doors and window, buildings destroyed through the years of fighting. In addition, the Syrian government had no money for fuel. Ambulances no-longer operated because they had no diesel. The cities could no longer purify water because there was no electricity. People only got water out of their taps for a couple of hours a week. Many people had gone for 5 months without a hot meal before the earthquake. Then came the severe earthquake in the middle of a torrential thunder storm in winter.