This week marks the 1-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake which struck Syria and Turkey. The people of Syria have suffered so much already, and the earthquake had left them re-traumatised and fragile. Life for so many families has been extremely tough, with the war, huge destruction, the lack of electricity and fuel to warm houses in a very cold city. Even before the earthquake happened in February, last year, 61% of people in Aleppo, one of the worst affected areas by the earthquake, were food insecure and access to non-food items like winter clothing and blankets were inaccessible.

Led by Tony O’Riordan SJ, the Jesuit Refugee Service in Syria has continued humanitarian aid on the ground providing families with blankets, winter clothing and basic necessities of family food packages. Beyond humanitarian relief, JRS have worked tirelessly to provide individuals and families with psychosocial support as well as vital referral programmes for communities without access to healthcare.

We want to take this moment to thank all of you, our friends and supporters for your generosity and response to our emergency appeal which was truly about life or death for desperate families in need.

Thanks to your support, since the deadly earthquake we have been able to bring hope to the lives of people whose lives were literally shook asunder.
• 44,288 women, men and children received support through one or more programs.
• 11,500 households received emergency food assistance in Aleppo, Homs, and Damascus. A follow up round of emergency food support was offered to 9,482 households in Aleppo.
• 2,290 vulnerable households in Aleppo received winter clothing and hygiene kits.
• 8,537 people received psychosocial support that created safe spaces and opportunities for adults to come together and share their stories and receive professional input from a team of social workers.
• A total of 1,865 children, women, and men received individual counselling.
• The JRS Emergency Health Clinic provided 3,881 consultations with a general medicine physician to 1,905 patients.
• 540 patients in need of surgery received financial support for referrals and hospitalization costs.
• Disaster risk reduction measures were completed in three buildings in Aleppo to reduce risks in future earthquakes.

All this life-saving work couldn’t be possible without the kind generosity of donors and the call and rally to be men and women for others is inspiring!

Listen to Tony’s Personal message to you all here:

Photo: Jesuit Refugee Service Syria