Surviving the Winter after the Earthquakes: A Story One Great Hour of Sharing from Turkey

by Beverly Bartlett

Through the winter months following the earthquakes in Turkey, nearly 200,000 survivors remained homeless, living in tent cities or temporary pre-fabricated housing units. We can imagine what life is like for those who are struggling to rebuild their lives, but even our most vivid imaginings fall short of the reality.

If you survived the August and November quakes in northwestern Turkey, it is likely that you still mourn people you loved and cared for who did not survive. If your house was destroyed or severely damaged, and you had no one who could take you in, you probably spent the last several months in a tent, one of many in a tent city. Set up on a grassy field, the tent camp quickly became a sea of mud. You don't know what's better--rainy days or sunny. When it rains the ground becomes a muddy swamp and there is no escape from the damp cold. On sunny days it's warmer, but the stench of trash, dust and diesel is overpowering.

In addition to trying to keep your family warm, fed, and clean, you are at a loss as to how to keep your children occupied. There is no school--it was destroyed. There are no books or school supplies--they were lost. There is nowhere for the children to play, except in the mud.

A violent storm blew away several of your neighbors' tents, and this morning you woke up to find your tent covered with snow. While it gives the children several hours of happy play, it must be swept off the tents and only makes the daily chores more difficult. And there is always the fear of fire as people try to keep warm and cook in crowded tents and huts with small heaters and stoves.

You look forward to moving into a pre-fabricated house that the relief workers have promised. It will not be a permanent home, but it will be warmer, safer, and more private. You are grateful for the hot meals the aid agency provides every day; grateful for the tent being set up as a temporary school and recreation area. You are grateful for little things--soap, a new toothbrush, towels and blankets-- little things that have become your most valuable possessions.

If you were a survivor of the earthquakes in Turkey, you probably would know nothing about the One Great Hour of Sharing, but without OGHS and UMCOR your life would be even more difficult. Gifts to this offering, given by people you will never meet or know about, have helped you survive the winter and will help you rebuild your life in the coming years.

Photo: A snow-covered tent city in Kaynasli, Turkey. UMNS photo by Daniel R. Gangler, Disaster News Network.

About the One Great Hour of Sharing and UMCOR

One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) is observed by United Methodists on the fourth Sunday in Lent but you can give all year around. The OGHS offering supports ongoing work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing allow UMCOR to work efficiently and effectively in disaster response, hunger and poverty ministries, and refugee ministries around the world. UMCOR does not receive support from World Service. Give generously in thanks for all that God has given you.

Choose one of the following four ways to order your free One Great Hour of Sharing resources:

1. Complete and mail the order form that was sent to pastors in September/October (Send to Customer Service Team, United Methodist Communications, P.O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-9907.)
2. Fax order to 1-615-742-5499.
3. Call toll free 1-888-346-3862.
4. Go online at Resources for OHGS 2006