Türkiye and Syria Earthquake Relief

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake with a magnitude exceeding 7 on the Richter scale struck southeastern Türkiye. It is estimated that over 50,000 people were killed, and 24 million or more people were affected by the earthquake. In the region, many houses, especially old ones, collapsed, and over 3 million people were forced to live as evacuees.

In the wake of this disaster, Zensho decided to provide emergency aid to help stabilize the lives of those affected by the disaster, in line with its corporate philosophy “to eradicate hunger and poverty from the world.” In order to support the lives of those who are far away from their everyday lives, we have committed to providing direct support to those affected by the earthquake.

Zensho decided to provide emergency aid immediately after the earthquake and organized a fund-raising campaign at the Group’s stores. While discussing the details of aid using the donations, Zensho received information that PARC Interpeoples’ Cooperation (hereinafter “PARCIC”) with which it has been collaborating in the fair trade business, had already begun providing aid in the affected areas. We decided to make a donation to PARCIC to be used for direct support to those living in the severely affected areas.

In March 2023, one month after the earthquake, Zensho decided to dispatch its employees to Türkiye to provide aid, as relief efforts were still ongoing in the affected areas. In cooperation with PARCIC, we decided to provide aid in accordance with the situation in the affected areas.

In July 2023, five months after the earthquake, Zensho, through PARCIC, distributed flour in the affected areas of Kahramanmaras Province.

PARCIC’s local staff visited the northern region of Göksun, which is located over an hour’s drive from the city center within Province. This area was not receiving the food that is provided in areas closer to the city center. When the local staff heard that the residents were not able to adequately cover their food expenses due to recent price hikes, they decided to provide food aid. Based on the voices of the residents, they decided to distribute flour, which is used to bake bread they eat every day. 241 households received flour purchased with Zensho’s donation.

The Türkiye and Syria Earthquake also caused significant damage in northern Syria. Half or more of the local population was displaced from their former homes due to the civil war that has been continuing since 2011, and were living in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps when the earthquake struck. It is estimated that over 90% of the population is in need of humanitarian aid.

From April to October 2023, Zensho provided aid in northern Syria through PARCIC’s partner organization. In order to support the “food infrastructure” of the affected people in an area where it is difficult to receive aid due to the civil war, Zensho provided three types of aid related to food.

According to the United Nations statistics, approximately 80% or more of the people living in the area do not have enough food to eat, and Zensho, through PARCIC’s partner organization, distributed food baskets to 1,700 households living in the IDP camps. Approximately 8,500 people received roughly one month’s worth of daily food, including rice, pasta, cooking oil, and lentils.

The Syrian coast, which has a Mediterranean climate, produces good quality olives. In recent years, the world has experienced a decrease in harvests and high raw materials prices due to extreme weather conditions, and therefore, the more olives that farmers can produce to meet the growing demand, the more income they can generate.

PARCIC’s partner organization decided to support the affected people during the olive harvest season in order to assist them with their livelihoods. They hired 476 people, including women, elderly, and people with disabilities who did not have sufficient income to earn a living, and sent them to 476 olive farmers. By providing them with the opportunity to work with farmers who needed help to harvest olives, they were able to secure a means of livelihood.

In Syria during the civil war, many displaced people have difficulty accessing safe water. As a result, cholera is spreading in refugee camps and other places where living conditions are poor, endangering the lives of children, who are particularly vulnerable to infection.

To prevent the spread of cholera, the United Nations and NGOs in the region have been working to improve water supply facilities; however, approximately 30% of the water supply facilities had not yet been improved. Therefore, PARCIC’s partner organization decided to improve 16 water supply facilities. By providing chlorine disinfection at each water intake facility, safe water has been provided to approximately 190,000 people. A woman who was getting water from one of the facilities that had been improved said, “It was difficult for me to make improvements, even though I felt bad for my children. I am grateful to you for creating a situation where we can drink water safely,” expressing her gratitude.