On the morning of Feb. 6, two earthquakes and an aftershock struck regions of Southeastern Turkey and Northwestern Syria, levelling thousands of buildings instantly. As of this week, an estimated 35,000 people have died in the disaster, and scores of survivors are left without homes.
Among the many organizations that have deployed to provide relief is ShelterBox, which provides customized emergency shelter and other life-saving household supplies immediately following disasters and in conflict zones.
Following the quakes, ShelterBox immediately sent an emergency response team to co-ordinate with local partners and to determine the best support to help vulnerable people recover, the organization said in a statement. The organization currently has a team in Gaziantep, a major city in the heart of the affected area.
To help fund the ongoing relief effort, the organization is coming to West Vancouver this weekend. Starting on Friday at 10 a.m., a ShelterBox tent and accessories provided with it will be set up in the atrium area in Park Royal South.
Turkey’s Consul General Taylan Tokmak will visit the display on Friday at 2 p.m., and again on Sunday at 11 a.m., accompanied by West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager. The display will run until Monday at 6 p.m.
The fundraiser is being run in partnership with Rotary Club of West Vancouver and Park Royal. The ShelterBox Turkey relief effort is also being supported by Rotary Clubs in North Vancouver, Lions Gate and Bowen Island, as well as Interact Clubs at Rockridge, Carson Graham and Windsor secondary schools.
From the fundraising effort, the organization said it will be providing desperately needed tents and vital aid items to people who need them most.
Aid will be in Turkey 'as long as needed'
A first shipment of tents was flown in via Turkish Airlines, and more will follow, said Chris Loat, ShelterBox ambassador at Rotary Club of West Vancouver.
"ShelterBox teams will be in Turkey for as long as needed," he said, adding that the charity is also providing aid to Syria.
The tents are robust, Loat explained, and families can live in them for several months. "In Haiti, tents were still supplying shelter three years after the [2021 earthquake]," he said.
Each tent costs around $1,200, which includes training of ShelterBox response team members, who deploy as volunteers to ensure aid reaches those in need, Loat said.
“These tragic earthquakes have caused historic destruction in an area already home to many displaced individuals,” said Stephanie Christensen, executive director of ShelterBox Canada. “ShelterBox will be providing vitally needed tents, blankets, solar lights and more to protect people from the winter weather, prevent the spread of disease, and help people to recover.”
According to the organization, freezing temperatures are presenting an immediate risk to life to people who are too afraid to return home, have no home to go back to, or are out desperately seeking news of missing loved ones.
“Our teams are working around the clock to move aid into the affected regions” said Alice Jefferson, head of emergency response. “We are aware that this will be one of the most challenging humanitarian responses that ShelterBox and the international community have faced in the last decade.”
The charity has been partnered with Rotary International in disaster relief since 2012. ShelterBox said it has supported more than 2.5 million people since it was founded in 2000. It was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and 2019 for its work in conflict zones.
