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About the Project
The field collaboration and implementation protocol between SOYAÇ and Aid Convoy Association aims to support individuals who have been severely affected by the February 6, 2023 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş-Pazarcık and Elbistan and the February 20, 2023 earthquake in Hatay. This project focuses on adolescents (13-18 years old) and women with children (12 years old and under) who are at high risk of:
- Homelessness, child labor, early and forced marriages, and school dropouts due to disruptions in education,
- Becoming involved in crime due to the temporary collapse of social norms (anomie) after the disaster.
By comparing their pre- and post-earthquake lives, the project examines their age- and disaster-related vulnerabilities, the conditions that contribute to these risks, and their impact. Within a clinical sociological framework, it seeks to empower women and children, providing social recovery through sustainable support.
Since June 2024, SOYAÇ has been leading the "Children, Earthquake, and Vulnerability: A Social Recovery Experiment" project to aid communities that have suffered multiple traumas.
In collaboration with Aid Convoy Association, which has been actively working in the Hatay region since February 22, 2023, and operates with official authorization from the Hatay Governor’s Office, SOYAÇ established a Textile Workshop at the Mimar Sinan Temporary Housing Center in Antakya. Designed primarily for women bearing the heaviest burdens after the disaster, this initiative aims to strengthen children and adolescents affected by trauma and enhance community resilience.
The workshop is based on the SOYAÇ Model, which focuses on peer-based therapeutic approaches through attachment-building and clinical sociology to reintegrate disaster-affected children, youth, and women into society.
Workshop Equipment at the Temporary Housing Center
- 2 four-thread overlock sewing machines
- 1 manual Singer straight stitch machine
- 1 semi-automatic Singer straight stitch machine
- 1 cutting machine
Interdisciplinary Approach and Institutional Support
With an interdisciplinary perspective, this project—implemented in collaboration with Maltepe University—aims to provide educational, cognitive, emotional, and social support for disaster-affected individuals. Project activities in Hatay are coordinated by SOYAÇ and managed by the Aid Convoy Association, with support from:
- AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority)
- Hatay Provincial Directorate of National Education
- Hatay Public Education Center