The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is collaborating with ActionAid in supporting those affected by the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
As part of the global mobilization to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by the deadly quakes in Turkey and Syria, we are working together with ActionAid and calling upon SNFCC visitors, staff and partners to contribute financial support by making a donation online in the amount of their choice.
Following the deadly earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, ActionAid is already on the front lines at the affected areas, focusing particularly on women, girls and marginalized groups of people, who are the most vulnerable after disasters. Emphasis is placed on gathering donations and individual financial contributions, instead of foodstuffs or other goods, for the earthquake-stricken regions in Turkey and Syria, because the transport and management of humanitarian assistance goods creates additional difficulties for the people managing the crisis on site. In addition, part of the objective in responding to humanitarian crises is to stimulate the local economy; hence, the sums collected are spent on purchasing the goods necessary locally, in the affected or neighboring regions, instead of importing them from other countries.
It has been established that there is a huge immediate need for shelter, heating, warm clothes and food. The help of all of us can ensure that people from the affected regions immediately receive the assistance they need during this difficult time.
Why is the help focused on women, girls and marginalized groups?
During conflicts, natural disasters and other emergencies, women and girls are often the first to respond, playing a crucial role in the survival of families and communities. In emergency situations, women and girls are also vulnerable to sexual exploitation, violence and abuse — more often than not, they have lost their privacy, their possessions, their homes, even their families.
• The overpopulation of camps makes women and girls vulnerable to sexual violence — there are indications that this happened after the earthquake of Nepal in 2015.
• Days and nights after an earthquake may be chaotic, with lack of infrastructure and coordination and many people living out on the streets. Again, this exposes women and girls to both sexual violence and, in some cases, trafficking or exploitation.
Donations are now closed. __
ActionAid is an independent international organization fighting against poverty and injustice in Greece and across the world. Currently, it runs projects in more than 45 countries, educating individuals and communities so that they may rely on their own strength and claim a life of dignity and a world that is fairer for all. Find out more about ActionAid and its scope of activities at actionaid.gr/.
