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THE
TURKEY EARTHQUAKE PROJECT
Project Period:
Two months, April-June 2000
Volunteer Requirement:
Four female technicians: a
woodworker to teach women the use of
power tools with which to make toys
and household items, a crafts person
to teach women to make handcraft
items, a filmmaker to document these
micro-enterprise activities on
video, and a businesswoman to teach
small business skills.
Location: Turkey
International Non Government
Organizations:
International Center for Sustainable
Cities (CANADA)
Foundation for the Support of
Women's Work (TURKEY)
Project Description
Following the disastrous
earthquake in the Marmara region of
Turkey in August of 1999 that left
200,000 people homeless and 30,000
dead, The Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) funded
a shelter assessment mission to
identify potential short and
long-term shelter assistance from
Canada.
The Vancouver based
International Center for
Sustainable Cities (ICSC) played
a major role in this Assessment
Mission.
Adapazari Street Scene
October 19, 1999
Adapazari Street Scene October 19,
1999
The Mission recommended
that Canada support the
Foundation for the Support of
Women's Work (FSWW), a long
established Turkish Non Government
Agency, that had received financial
support from the Dutch Government to
establish six Women's Centers in the
temporary settlements.
ICSC had several
meetings with the women, operating
these Centers, who reported that the
daycare and micro-enterprise
activities were making a significant
difference in the lives of the
Moslem women. It was felt that with
improved instruction, these
activities could be expanded to earn
money for the women and to support
the Centers. It was also evident
that the women wanted to have more
influence on decisions about
rebuilding their homes and
communities.
Tent Settlement, June 2000 (10
months after earthquake)
Pre-fab Settlement, June 2000 (10
months after earthquake)
Builders Without
Borders was requested to find
four female technicians to work out
of the Centers in the temporary
settlements.
The first instructor
was required to teach the women
woodworking skills for making wooden
toys and other wooden articles to
sell to supplement their own income
and help finance the Centers.
Julia Armstrong (center), Enderby,
B.C., woodworking instructor
The second
instructor was to be a crafts person
familiar with the recycling of
newsprint into a basic form of
writing paper for use in the Centers
and the making of other craft
products for the women to sell.
Gudrun Hupfauer (center), Salmon Arm
B.C.
papermaker & handicraft instructor
The third instructor
was to be a filmmaker to teach the
use of video as an education tool
and at the same time document the
FSWW project.
The fourth
instructor was to be a businesswoman
familiar with the steps required in
establishing a small business and
marketing its products, which would
help the women launch home based
businesses.
Enda Bardell (lower right),
Vancouver, B.C.,
small business course instructor
Builders Without Borders was
successful in recruiting three women
from British Columbia and one from
Ontario, to teach the women the
basic skills and how to become
trainers themselves.
The carpenter and
crafts person taught five days a
week for four weeks at one center
and then repeated this at a second
center for a further four weeks. The
businesswoman spent a few days at
each of the six centers over a
four-week period, and the film maker
travelled to most centers over the
four week filming assignment.
The Canadian
volunteers were paid all travel and
living expenses by ICSC through the
CIDA funding. The field assignment
took place between April and June of
2000.
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