Letter – ShelterBox aid in Türkiye and Syria

Dear Editor,

At the international disaster relief charity ShelterBox, we have crucial aid supplies in Türkiye and Syria to help people affected by the devastating earthquakes that have claimed more than 40,000 lives. 

This is a complex humanitarian response spanning two countries and one of the most challenging that ShelterBox and the international community have faced in the last decade. The number of people affected is significant and we know that behind every statistic are people who need our help, including in very hard to reach, conflict affected regions. 

We have an emergency response team in Gaziantep working with local authorities, partners, and Rotary, to make sure people affected by the earthquakes get the aid they need.

Our tents have arrived in Türkiye from Panama – one of the places where we strategically pre-position aid to help get supplies to disaster affected communities as quickly as we can. 

The humanitarian need in Syria was already substantial before these earthquakes happened, with three million people displaced by the war in the north of the country

Now, freezing temperatures are presenting an immediate risk to life to people in both countries who are either too afraid to return home or have no home to go back to.

A truck of aid carrying thermal blankets has crossed the border into Syria and has reached our local partner, Bahar, who will be distributing our aid. More trucks of our aid should arrive in northern Syria in the coming days and weeks, and we’ll be getting winter coats to children affected by the earthquakes in Syria through our existing partner, ReliefAid.

None of our responses are possible without our supporters, which is why we have an emergency fundraising appeal to help people affected by the earthquakes and other disasters around the world. For more information visit www.shelterbox.org.

Dave Raybould

Emergency Response Manager

ShelterBox