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On February 6th, several severe earthquakes struck parts of Turkey and Syria. In Turkey alone, this natural disaster claimed over 50,000 lives. CDH Stephanus launched a fundraising appeal. God moved many people to contribute, resulting in a substantial donation of over €240,000.
With a portion of the collected donations, a group of nine brothers set off for Turkey on March 8, 2023. Their goal was to support the people there with material goods after the earthquake and to establish contacts for further aid efforts. At that time, the roads to Syria were still closed, so no aid team could travel to the affected region.
Images of destruction
The first point of contact in Turkey was a Christian community in Antakya. The local Christians welcomed the brothers warmly.
To help as many people as possible, the tour group split into two aid teams. The first team traveled to Iskenderun, where they set up 110 tents, providing shelter for 75 families. In total, the tents accommodated 430 people. Some members of the tour group helped with the tent setup.
Help with tent setup
The second group was deployed in the area around Antakya. There, they built wooden huts for the families in need. Several generations now live together in these huts, sharing the limited space.
In coordination with the local church leadership, aid funds were used to purchase small shipping containers for housing in Antakya. The brothers spent several blessed hours in fellowship and song with the Christian community in Antakya.
After a few days, some of the brothers in charge continued their journey north to Kahramanmaras. There, they were able to support a community by purchasing a delivery van. The van is now being used to transport aid supplies to affected areas, such as materials for building houses or erecting tents.
Visit to Elbistan
The journey then continued to Elbistan. There, the aid team met with some Christians and people who showed great interest in their faith, whose homes had been destroyed in the earthquake. An elderly pastor took these people into his home, even though he didn't really know the five families or have any connection to them. He did this out of love for Jesus. They still live together today, as the reconstruction efforts are progressing very slowly and many of those affected are waiting for the government commission's decision. This commission inspects each house for safety and then gives permission for demolition or renovation.
Before visiting the affected families in Elbistan, the German aid workers bought new clothes for several families at a large clothing store and then donated them. They also distributed clothing and shoes donated from Germany to those in need.
Construction of a wooden house
On March 15, 2023, the aid team was able to begin their return journey to Germany and arrived home safely. The brothers are deeply grateful to God for his protection and preservation during their mission trip.
Please continue to pray for the work in Turkey. So far, only a few contacts have been established within the country itself, which significantly hinders cooperation and support on the ground. In order to further strengthen these contacts and distribute aid, three brothers from CDH Stephanus were deployed to Turkey again from May 22nd to May 26th, 2023.
May the work of charity continue to bear fruit through donations and prayers.
Michael König
Municipality of Speyer
More information about the project and the opportunity to donate:
https://cdh-stephanus.org/erdbeben-in-tuerkei-syrien/
