Two years ago, on February 6th, 2023, several CCSD team members woke up to the horror of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Türkiye and parts of Syria, resulting in over 55,000 in deaths in Türkiye and Syria, millions displaced and widespread devastation that communities are still struggling to recover from today.
In response to this devastating event, CCSD harnessed the resilience and solidarity of affected communities, local organizations, and humanitarian responders. CCSD joined forces with local civil society groups to alleviate the suffering among the impacted communities by implementing an emergency local response. Two years later, the impact continues to be deeply felt, and the road to recovery remains long. This moment reminds us that our work is far from over, but we can build a better future together.
Through our emergency local response campaign, #Together, we worked with local civil society organizations in Northwest Syria and Türkiye to provide critical support to families affected by the earthquake. We addressed urgent needs: shelter, food, water, heating, livelihoods, and economic recovery. Working alongside around forty local partners, we assisted over 100,000 individuals across various cities in Türkiye and Northern Syria. Beyond immediate humanitarian relief, CCSD prioritized providing psycho-social support and financial administration support for our diverse civil society partners, including women’s groups, as they played a vital role in serving their communities during this crisis.
Over the past two years, CSSD has supported various organizations that have stepped up to help rebuild their communities. For example, CCSD supported Sada, Afrin Gathered Us, Suriana, and Kafar Takhirim Peace Circle to advance resilience and recovery efforts further and help communities respond better to their collective needs. Sada provided vocational training to women from the Atma camp and replaced their work tools lost in the earthquake. Afrin Gathered Us identified that elderly women, widows, and children in their community, especially those in the camps, struggled to secure appropriate winter clothing. They developed an initiative to provide warm clothing for 35 elderly women, 50 widows, and 60 children. They provided elderly women with knitting supplies and taught them how to make clothing for themselves and their community. In support of displaced students at the Shahranaz Camp, Suriana packaged and distributed 200 baskets with notebooks, colored pencils, pens, and bags to ensure they are able to participate in school actively. Kafar Takhirim Peace Circle recognized the essential role of soap and detergent in maintaining health and well-being, especially in camps formed after the earthquake. They empowered women with the skills to produce detergent to address this need. These women could make their detergents and sell them, creating a much-needed source of income. In turn, they began teaching other women how to make and sell the products, helping improve the camp’s life.
Syrians continue to face significant challenges on the path to full recovery from the earthquake. Key needs include packages containing necessities like food, clothes, hygiene and medical supplies for the people in the camps, psychosocial support, vocational training to start businesses, and grants to support the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs). In addition, CCSD will continue to support local grassroots organizations in designing and implementing locally-driven community-led interventions.
At CCSD, we remain committed to supporting all Syrians as they navigate this critical transitional phase and continue to recover from the earthquake. Through direct support and advocacy, we work hard to support organizations and individuals working tirelessly towards an inclusive and vibrant democratic Syria.
We thank everyone who has supported our emergency local response campaign over the past two years. We invite you to support our efforts to continue responding to the Syrian people’s needs as they recover and rebuild. Your donation will help us provide essential aid and strengthen local organizations working directly with local communities. You can also make a difference by helping us spread awareness about humanitarian needs and advocating for policies that facilitate recovery and development.
If you would like to learn more about our work or join in the conversation, please attend one of our upcoming events. Our next event is on February 20th, 2025, from 10 am – 11:30 am EST when CCSD, in collaboration with Mediators Beyond Borders International, the Alliance for Peacebuilding, ICAN, Vitol Foundation, and the Rotary E-Club for World Peace, is hosting the event in our series Amplifying Syrian Voices, which will focus on humanitarian response and early recovery in Syria.
