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FOCUS USA
It’s been over a month since 6 February 2023, when a 7.8 earthquake struck Türkiye and Syria resulting in over 50,000 casualties and catastrophic damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure.
The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) in Syria immediately activated its specialized search and rescue and response teams providing critical humanitarian aid, working closely with the United Nations, and the international aid community.
AKHAs highly specialized Search & Rescue Teams (SART) were deployed to rescue people from beneath the rubble with support from thousands of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers. Other CERT teams immediately organized to carry out rapid needs assessments of the damage and evacuate hundreds of community members from weakened infrastructure.
Critical Aid: Fifty (50) emergency shelters with a capacity of 10, were delivered to affected neighbourhoods in Türkiye.
FOCUS units in USA, CANADA, and EUROPE provides funding to assist in the response efforts.
In the United States, FOCUS USA together with Ismaili CIVIC USA, several General Consulates of the Turkish Republic, and various local partners hosted donation drives to meet immediate basic needs. In person donation drives for essential supplies were held in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, and Los Angeles.
Over 300 volunteers across major US cities supported efforts to collect and organize over 140 pallets (approx. 6 containers) of supplies. New winter clothing, medicine, sleeping bags, tents, diapers, feminine hygiene items, baby formula and more were shipped to Türkiye through the Consulates’ partnership with Turkish Airlines.
FOCUS HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE ability to respond effectively to provide aid and relief is conceived through generous donor contributions.
