Our journey in Turkey · Part 1 of 3
In the early hours of 6 February 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey near Kahramanmaraş. Hours later a second major earthquake hit the same region. It was one of the deadliest disasters in the country’s modern history: more than 53,000 people died in Turkey, and eleven provinces, home to about 14 million people, were devastated.
The earthquake at a glance
6 Feb 2023
the day it struck
7.8
magnitude
53,000+
lives lost in Turkey
14 million
people live in the 11 affected provinces
On the road
Immediately after the earthquake, Make a Difference, as part of the UBC’22 project, set out to help. We loaded our vans with humanitarian aid, tents and food and drove from Romania across Bulgaria and Turkey. We went through Edirne, Istanbul and Ankara, and then almost 700 kilometres further south into the earthquake zone.
What we found
Whole streets had collapsed. Apartment blocks were split open, and shops and homes had become piles of rubble. The families who survived had lost almost everything, and many had nowhere to sleep. Nights were cold, and the need for shelter was urgent.
What our vans carried
22
tents
40
mattresses
50
foam sleeping mats
80
sleeping bags
100
blankets
100 kg
of medicines
What we did
Along with food, we delivered everything we had brought. Then we joined the work in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). Side by side with others, we put up tents, often late into the night, assembling frames and stretching covers so that more families could have a roof over their heads.
We also spent time with a local church community, sharing what we had seen and standing together with believers who were serving their neighbours in the middle of the crisis.
Our journey in Turkey
February 2023
First trip: emergency aid and tents
We brought aid and put up tents for displaced families.
You are reading this story
May 2023
Second trip: tiny houses and clean water
We built 10 wooden houses and installed our first water purification system.
May 2026
Third trip: clean water in Hatay
We installed three water purification systems in camps in Hatay.
When disaster strikes, we go where we are needed. We do it because we love people, and because God loves them.