Looking back on the mission in late January and early February, in retrospect, we see it as surreal. It ended with the tragedy of the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria.
Our small team consisting of Arianna and her husband Luca was in the refugees camp for a week. There were many things to do, as always, and setbacks as well. We learned how to manage them, get around them and turn them into opportunities. It was cold and the camp was so muddy and windy that it made everything a little more complicated. We distributed food, supports to orphans and fragile families, powdered milk and customized supports. We sat in all those tents where the situation needed more listening and help and played a lot with the children in the small school tent.
Ahmed, the new teacher is doing a huge job, helped by Maysam who participates in every mission by leaving for a week the urban school he runs and we support. The children in the school have doubled in number, also aided by the fact that we try to reward the best. It’s an incentive, in a place where no one cares about them. We distributed blankets to all 900 families in the camp and, on the night of February 6, we left again. Very late, 15 hours late. Two hours after we took off, the earth shook, destroying and killing. The earthquake hit a population, the Syrian population, already tired by years of war and suffering and a state, Turkey, that found itself counting tens of thousands of dead.
Our efforts immediately focused on helping families in the city of Azaz who lost everything to the earthquake. One of the most severely affected areas. We immediately took action and thanks to our trusty local team, we brought food, blankets, camp stoves, mattresses, some money to meet daily needs, but there is much, much to be done. Our next goal is to purchase tents to shelter them from the cold and give them shelter. In the meantime, the families in the camp, deprived themselves of a blanket each to donate to those who, left homeless, found themselves sleeping in the cold and on the streets.
