World Vision Singapore Launches Public Fundraising Appeal, Doubles pledge to S$200,000 to support the escalating need for immediate relief items

10 February 2023 - World Vision Singapore has launched a public fundraising appeal today, doubling its pledge to S$200,000 to support the escalating need for immediate relief items for the children and families impacted by the catastrophic earthquake that hit Northern Syria and South-Eastern Türkiye.

The death toll continues to rise hour by hour and has now sadly climbed above 21,000 in both Syria and Türkiye.

World Vision has worked rapidly to assess the needs to already-displaced children and communities in the wake of the earthquake and are scaling up our emergency response. Initial assessments indicate that there are needs for fuel to medical facilities and collective emergency shelters for heating purposes and electricity along with food and key non-food items including tents, blankets, mattresses, tarpaulins, and heaters. Within the first 24 hours after the earthquake, World Vision has distributed heaters and fuel to collective shelters to help people to survive the winter conditions in Syria.

As the international effort gathers pace in Türkiye, Syria is significantly underserved and remains a serious concern. Over a decade of conflict created massive ongoing needs in Syria before the earthquake. Now hundreds of thousands of women, men and children have been displaced from their homes and are now stranded outside in freezing temperatures. Children are particularly vulnerable to family separation, exploitation and abuse at this time.

“The needs are severe. Especially that the quake coincided with winter and cold and in an area that witnessed war for 11 years. The infrastructure is very weak. Buildings are weathering and cracking before the quake because of the war. The quake destroyed what remained,” described Ahlam Alrasheed, World Vision Protection Coordinator in Harim, Syria.

“Hospitals are working 24/7. Hospitals are in dire need of medical equipment and first aid. People are still in a state of panic and fear. People are in a desperate need for shelter, food, medication, medical care, mobile clinics. Women are in a state of panic. There are women who gave birth under the rubble. There was a woman who gave birth under the rubble. The woman passed away after giving birth and the child is now in a hospital. There are pregnant women under the rubble and in the open. Women and children are in dire need for humanitarian intervention to support their needs,” added Ahlam Alrasheed.

Agreement was reached between authorities in Northwest Syria and Ankara on Wednesday to reopen the Bab al-Salam and Al Rai border crossings. This is key as access challenges persist for Bab Al-Hawa, the main border crossing authorized by the UN Security Council (UNSC)’s cross border resolution for Syria. World Vision is calling for swift and unhindered humanitarian access to the most impacted areas in Northwest Syria so that those most affected can be assisted as soon as possible.

“Humanitarian needs were already extremely severe in Northwest Syria, and this devastating earthquake has added trauma to ongoing crisis there. Health facilities were already badly equipped and unable to cope with need, but now many have been destroyed. Families are trying to survive with no homes, no access to food, in sub-zero temperatures whilst also attempting to deal with the physical and mental impact of this earthquake. We call on the international community to prioritise these people, who have already been through so much,” said Johan Mooij, World Vision Syria Response National Director.

“The situation is catastrophic. Children are separated from their families and there are others whose entire family have passed away. We must do everything we can to protect these children who are now even more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. We are encouraged by the outpouring of support and more needs to be done as the situation on the ground continues to escalate. We are appealing for donations so that our teams can provide immediate relief items like fuel to medical facilities and collective emergency shelters, food and other key non-food items such as tents, blankets, mattresses, tarpaulins and heaters to the survivors of the earthquake,” says Lilian Chung, National Director of World Vision Singapore.

World Vision has been on the ground responding to the Syrian conflict and refugee crisis for over 8 years. World Vision will build on our in-country disaster response experience to scale up our emergency response to reach as many children and families as we can.

World Vision has been working in the Middle East region for nearly 40 years. We’re dedicated to improving the lives of children, families, and the communities where they live through long-term sustainable development as well as responding to disasters — both natural and man-made.

Your donation will go towards meeting the immediate needs of the people impacted by the earthquake:

• $50 can provide medical supplies to enable the treatment of 12 people

• $100 can provide 1 person with safe and clean water for 6 months

• $250 can provide 4 people with heating during the initial months following the earthquake

• $500 can provide 8 people with basic shelter assistance and essential household items during the first weeks after the earthquake

• $1,000 can provide 8 people with emergency shelter for six months