The Birmingham women providing aid in Turkey, (third to right) Saraya Hussain, ISRA UK deployment co-ordinator

When Brummie charity worker Saraya Hussain travelled to Turkey to support victims of the deadly earthquakes, she was surprised to hear women’s support was falling short. Broken and traumatised women stuck in camps with children struggled to ask male aid workers for sanitary items or emotional support.

Saraya decided to rally a group of Brummie women ahead of Eid ul Adha to provide aid, donations and even a shoulder to cry on at refugee camps. She claimed that when she announced volunteers were needed, more women than men responded which inspired her all female crusade.

The crew of ten women, supported by Ladypool Road charity ISRA UK, travelled to refugee camps in the Turkish south-central city of Gaziantep on June 19-24. They provided essential sanitary items for women and babies, zakat (charity) from Birmingham Muslims and Qurbani meat for Eid.

Saraya, 46, ISRA UK deployment co-ordinator, said: “We have been going to Turkey since the beginning of the earthquakes. I had a meeting there and asked what they needed, they said women’s needs are not being met.

“Women don’t feel comfortable asking for sanitary towels or even new knickers. It is also because of cultural and religious reasons.

“I am passionate about women’s empowerment so I formed an all women deployment team. This is because we already put a call out and more women replied and not just for light work.

“We collected sanitary towels, women’s hygiene kits, toiletries and blankets. We were at one camp where there were 400 children and you see the hardship. We threw a party for them with music, a clown, toys and it was really nice for them.”

Saraya noticed a bridge of communication formed immediately when they arrived. She recalled a Turkish mother whose 25-year-old son died in the deadly quake on February 6. The mother sat outside a pile of rubble for 12 days waiting for him to be rescued, hoping he was alive.

Hussain said: “We just held each other, my parting words were ‘what future do you see for yourself?’ and she replied ‘I expect nothing’. The grief is still there.

“We’re focusing on other needs that aren’t currently being met in a gender-sensitive way.”

According to the charity, many of those affected by the earthquakes have been Syrians living in Turkey. More than 1.7 million Syrian refugees live in the ten southern Turkish provinces devastated by the recent earthquakes.