One year on: how emergency aid helped children traumatised by earthquake

One year ago today, two massive earthquakes rocked southern Turkey.

They killed more than 50,000 people, damaged or destroyed 230,000 buildings and left huge numbers of children – many of them Syrian refugees – traumatised and struggling to cope.

The disaster 国产视频渉ad a huge effect on my kids,国产视频� said Amina, a 35-year-old mother from the city of 艦anl谋urfa.

国产视频淭hey were afraid and shocked, they lost their appetite. If a spoon fell it would scare them. It had a huge impact on them.国产视频�

But an emergency programme supported by 国产视频 provided psychological aid to traumatised children. The Turkish organisation Maya Vakfi set up mobile teams of psychologists and social workers to identify affected children and give them essential support, including innovative approaches such as creative arts therapy.

Ezgi Berkta艧, Programs Coordinator at Maya Vakfi, said: 国产视频淭he project offers access to art-based mental health care, including structured group sessions and individualised support for children. These sessions include art therapy, dance and movement therapy, and music therapy.国产视频�

As well as in-person and online sessions for children, Maya Vakfi held dozens of parenting events for more than 700 people in 艦anl谋urfa and Hatay province. The changes in some of the children were dramatic.

“My son attended a few sessions and the improvement was immense – I would say up to 90%,国产视频� said Amina. 国产视频淗e became more secure and less afraid, his self-confidence increased.

“I want him to be full of self-confidence to pass it to the future generations. These psychological support sessions are not just for him in his childhood, they are also for his grandchildren.国产视频�

Syrian refugee Hanah, a 32-year-old mother of four, agrees. She said: 国产视频淢y kids were terrified a lot. My son Fadil was the one who suffered the most.

国产视频淗e benefitted a lot, his psychological state changed completely. After the sessions, he doesn国产视频檛 say a lot but I see him – his movements at home, everything has changed. Even his situation in school has gotten better.国产视频�

Refugee children often live with trauma that can lead them to become aggressive, isolated or unfocused. 国产视频 had previously supported Maya Vakfi’s Trauma Informed Schools programme, which helped more than 1,000 teachers provide tailored psychosocial support to 5,000 Syrian refugee and Turkish students.

But last year国产视频檚 earthquakes meant an emergency programme of psychological first aid was required.

One of the children it reached is Khaliq, a 12-year-old Syrian refugee from 艦anl谋urfa who lives with his parents and nine siblings.

He said the Maya Vakfi sessions “have helped me a lot … they treated us very well, they are lovely and I love them a lot. The support was a great help to us.国产视频�

Eight-year-old Nizam, another Syrian refugee, said: “We had a lot of fun, they gave us activities and taught us things.国产视频� His favourite part? “That we don国产视频檛 allow anyone to bully us, to have self-confidence.”