In the first week of the earthquake... How did the local relief sector respond to the repercussions of the disaster?

Damascus-SANA

Numerous civil activities and voluntary youth initiatives, in coordination with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, moved from the first moments of the earthquake disaster that hit Syria on the 6th of February, to help remove rubble and rescue operations, secure shelters, and provide health and relief services to those affected in Aleppo, Lattakia, and Hama. .

The rapid response in the first week of the disaster was present in the local relief sector, whether by government agencies represented by the Ministry of Social Affairs or by community institutions and initiatives, as the Syrian Trust for Development participated extensively in relief efforts, by providing its staff with basic supplies for those affected in shelters or in shelters. Their whereabouts are with their relatives and friends in various regions, and specialized committees have been formed in cooperation with the Engineers Syndicate in the affected governorates to inspect buildings and houses that have not collapsed in the earthquake areas, and to conduct a preliminary assessment of the ability of their residents to return to them safely.

To this day, the field teams of the Syrian Municipality continue to prepare meals and deliver them to shelter centers, and to provide shelter for children who have lost their families and those in need within its community beacons, in addition to contributing to ambulance and treatment operations for the injured. The Municipality has also sent more than three thousand food parcels to the aforementioned governorates to be distributed immediately to health centers. presence affected.

In a similar role, Al-Areen Humanitarian Foundation, since the first hours after the earthquake disaster on Monday the 6th of February, took care of the costs of treatment and surgical operations necessary for the wounded and injured who were transferred to private hospitals at its expense, in addition to communicating with public hospitals and helping to secure all medical supplies and equipment necessary for the injured. Ambulances of the Ambulance Foundation system were also distributed to the affected areas to transport the injured or to transport the bodies to the burial sites, and later to transfer the injured after their discharge from the hospitals to the homes of their relatives or to the shelters.

According to Dr. Raneem Asaad, head of the medical office in the institution, the cadres of the institution donated blood and distributed basic supplies such as mattresses, blankets, medicines and infant formula to shelters, and followed up on the needs of the injured in hospitals, especially those who lost their families and had no one with them. And she asked those affected outside the shelters “at their relatives in the city or villages” to contact her through the numbers she published on her Facebook page, so that the specialized teams of the institution provide all their needs.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Social Affairs, in cooperation with the Damascus Governorate and the Federation of Charitable Associations in Damascus and its countryside, sent an aid convoy containing 45 tons of various foodstuffs, clothing, blankets, and others to meet the urgent and necessary needs of citizens in the affected governorates. Aid containing more than 20 tons of foodstuffs, blankets, clothes and other materials to meet the needs.

In turn, the Syrian Youth Imprint Foundation launched a blood donation campaign in Daraa and Deir ez-Zor in support of the wounded and injured as a result of the devastating earthquake.

The foundation’s volunteers, in cooperation with the civil defense units, carried out rescue operations and removed rubble in the Salhab area, “Ain al-Krum district,” the village of al-Hawaiq, and the city center.

The NGOs intensified their efforts to provide the necessary needs, as the “Resive the Poor Charitable Association” sent a relief convoy consisting of 7 trucks carrying foodstuffs, mineral water, various clothes, blankets, medicines, medical supplies, wheelchairs and other necessary materials for those affected.

A Syrian Foundation, bringing us together, sent 5 convoys loaded with food and relief supplies to the governorates of Hama, Lattakia and Aleppo, where all its warehouses were dedicated, including foodstuffs and relief materials, to be provided to the affected governorates.

The Ghiras Development Association, in cooperation with the Federation of Associations, participated in preparing an aid convoy to the affected governorates, loaded with various foodstuffs, clothes, clothes, shoes, and medicines.

In turn, the Saaed Association worked, in cooperation with the Damascus associations, to send convoys to Aleppo, Jableh and Hama, which included winter clothes, food, medical materials and blankets, in addition to preparing meals for the affected people.

Al-Khair Channels Foundation operated 8 cars containing various foodstuffs, blankets, various winter clothes, medicines, diapers and baby formula.

The Ahmed Humanitarian Project also launched an appeal to gather in areas in Damascus, collect clothes, medicines and blankets and deliver them to shelters in the affected places.

Its sterility team announced that it had equipped transport vehicles to send aid to the affected people in Aleppo and Jableh, in coordination with the local authorities to respond to the repercussions of the disaster. The aid included medical materials, chronic disease medicines, devices, spray masks, oxygen cylinders and fire extinguishers.

Al-Quds Charitable Society sent an aid convoy that included 6 trucks of foodstuffs, clothes, mattresses and blankets to meet the urgent and necessary needs of those affected.

Voluntary teams, community initiatives, bodies and institutions are still mobilizing all their capabilities to put them at the service of the people of the areas affected by the earthquake.

In the framework of providing social and psychological support to those affected, the Syrian Commission for Family and Population Affairs has allocated phone numbers to request consultation for this type of support through specialists around the clock.

Muhannad Suleiman