Education for a future of opportunities
Following the devastating earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border region in February 2023, many villages and towns are still suffering the consequences. Siemens Caring Hands e.V. is supporting those affected with a global appeal for donations and, among other things, is providing the Zeltschule e.V. in Syria with urgently needed goods for everyday life. The tent schools play a central role in the lives of the affected children and offer them a safe space in which they are understood and receive help.
Support for Syria
In the midst of the ongoing emergency after the shattering earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border region, Syrian villages and towns in particular are often still in the same state as days after the shock. Particularly in the region of Idlib, there is a lack of money, appropriate equipment and trained helpers to remove the rubble. In addition, the recovery of the buried victims required a lot of resources, so that reconstruction is progressing rather slowly.
Considering the dramatic situation in the affected region, Siemens Caring Hands e.V. launched a worldwide appeal for donations to support Turkey and Syria. The funds raised were used, among other things, to support Zeltschule e.V. with a high six-figure sum. Since 2017, the association has been operating 17 tent schools in Syria, offering children educational opportunities and providing families with essential goods. In addition to education for children and young people, comprehensive programs have been launched with the aim to enable women an independent and self-determined life in the long term.
“School provides security for children in an unstable and otherwise uncontrollable situation”
Immediately after the rescue of children and their families, the most important priority was to provide basic food supplies and rebuild the affected tent schools. Jacqueline Flory, founder and CEO of Zeltschule e.V. reported, that school is the center of the children’s lives and that the weeks without lessons were such a burden for them that their teachers – as soon as the temperatures were warmer – tried to hold lessons outside as often as possible. “The rituals at school, belonging to a community, working together towards a better future is an important safety net for the children concerned,” says Flory.
Thanks to the extensive donations from Siemens employees, the newly built “Meerkat” tent school can be provided with everything the children need for a year. Pupils receive school materials, lessons every day, meals together and food parcels for the rest of the family.
With winter approaching and temperatures in north-western Syria often reaching freezing point, blankets, firewood and warm clothing are essential to survive the cold nights. To make everyday life possible even in the difficult winter conditions, Siemens Caring Hands decided to provide another 1,000 families with the bare essentials and to equip every child at the school with a warm jacket and winter boots.
We would like to thank Zeltschule e.V., which gives the children such an important feeling of normality in these difficult times, as well as the Siemens employees for their generous donations.
Do you want to support an initiative like this to help the people in Turkey and Syria?
Donate to Siemens Caring Hands using the keyword “Tuerkiye/Syria”.
Your donation doubles in impact as Siemens matches every Euro donated to Siemens Caring Hands.