Turkey Quake Survivors Receive Treated Water Thanks to FFTP, Water Mission
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 18, 2023) Families recovering from the deadly earthquakes that devastated Turkey in February have treated water to drink and meet their everyday needs, thanks to a partnership between Food For The Poor (FFTP) and Water Mission.
FFTP’s generous donors provided funding for three water treatment systems. Each system can provide 10,000 gallons of treated water for up to 5,000 people daily.
To date, Water Mission, a longtime trusted FFTP partner, has installed 18 water treatment systems that are serving nearly 57,000 people with water for drinking, cooking, handwashing and bathing.
The systems have been strategically placed in camps, kitchens and clinics, where the greatest numbers of displaced families are located.
One of the systems provided by FFTP donors is located in Iskenderun, a city in Turkey’s Hatay province on the Mediterranean coast, where about 600 people seeking shelter at a camp now have access to treated water.
Derya, a schoolteacher who lost her home in the earthquakes, is sheltering with her family at the camp in Iskenderun.
“I thank you wholeheartedly for coming all the way here,” Derya said. “I know that you are working. But I also see you as volunteers, because you are sincerely helping people.”
Watch a video of Derya expressing her gratitude, while collecting water from one of the systems: https://youtu.be/g09OO2OM9zs
The earthquakes and aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria beginning on February 6 killed more than 57,000 people and left more than 3 million homeless in the region, according to news reports.
Immediately after the earthquakes, FFTP launched a campaign that included radio partners to raise funds to provide assistance.
While FFTP’s mission primarily is to serve in the Caribbean and Latin America, the charity has responded in the past to disasters elsewhere in the world. For example, FFTP worked with longtime partner Feed My Starving Children in 2022 to respond to the war in Ukraine, providing support for MannaPack rice meals.
FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said the charity’s strategy of working with partners means it can provide immediate relief when the world’s attention shifts to catastrophes outside its normal theater of operations.
“These extraordinary relationships with our partners such as Water Mission means we can have a meaningful role in the response,” Raine said. “And thanks to this partnership, we’re getting help to people who are suffering.”
Within days of the disaster, Water Mission staff were in Turkey, assessing the situation and determining how to best serve those in need. In addition to the 18 water treatment systems already installed, Water Mission plans to bring more systems in the coming weeks which means even more displaced families will have access to treated water.
“Together, Water Mission and Food For The Poor have provided access to lifesaving safe water to nearly 60,000 people displaced by the earthquakes in Turkey,” said George Greene IV, PE, Water Mission CEO and President. “We’re thankful for this partnership as we meet physical needs and show God’s love.”
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications
954-471-0928
[email protected]
