Although five months have passed since the first devastating earthquake hit Turkey on 17 August, the pain of earthquake victims is still very present. The onset of a cold, wet, snowy winter, the permanent change in living conditions and the challenges associated with moving whole families to settle temporarily in prefabricated houses, renders the rehabilitation of traumatized victims even more difficult. A loss of children, parents, work and homes. Life is not easy for those who remain in the region. Some people are surviving the winter in tents, while others prefer living in prefabricated housing units.
Prefabricated houses provide better living conditions than tents.
Yet social services in the form of basic health services, schools for children, psycho-social activities, and other recreational spaces are not yet available in some cases. Education is key As a result of the earthquakes, many schools lost materials and supplies. In addition, many students lost their houses and all their possessions. Educational, recreational kits and pre-school kits are being distributed in the five affected provinces. The Ministry of National Education has identified the most vulnerable schools by surveying the school transportation system and assessing where the children from the tent cities attend school.