Meryem Hanım strived to support and keep her family together. When the family was reached through the collaboration of Save the Children Türkiye and ASAM, the focus was not only on meeting their immediate needs, but also on helping them to rebuild a stable and secure life. The steps taken and financial assistance provided to ensure the children’s access to education and healthcare opened the door to a new beginning: the family left the difficult container conditions and moved into a new home.
Meryem Hanım describes the impact of this change on their lives with the following words:
“Thanks to the support that arrived just as winter was knocking on our door, our home was warmed up right in time. Seeing my children say, ‘Now we have clothes just like other children,’ and watching them head back to school was one of the happiest moments of my life.”
During this journey, which began in a container and led to a real home, each support offered, from legal guidance to medical appointments, helped ease Meryem Hanım’s burden a little more. She is no longer just someone receiving assistance, but also a strong mother who has taken back control of her own life:
“Anything can happen in life, but I never gave up. The important thing is to keep hope alive despite everything. The more you think positively, the more good things happen.”
Today is February 6… Three years have passed since that major disaster. During this period, which still requires great resilience and patience for thousands of people, we believe in the power of standing shoulder to shoulder and getting back on our feet by holding on to one another. The children’s voices echoing from Meryem Hanım’s home show that even in the most difficult times, life can be rebuilt through solidarity.
We have not forgotten; in every step we take to heal the wounds, in every dream we have, we are together.