TÜRKIYE’S POST-EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY PROCESS
The Turkish Handball Federation launched an initiative designed to contribute to Türkiye’s post-earthquake recovery process through sports.
The Turkish Handball Federation launched an initiative designed to contribute to Türkiye’s post-earthquake recovery process through sports.
The #HandballHeals initiative, focusing on those provinces most affected by the huge earthquakes in south-west Türkiye in February, is supported by partners around the world, including the EHF. The EHF Social Fund contributed approximately €20,000, or one-third of the envisaged costs, to the initiative.
The earthquakes on 6 February 2023 caused immense destruction. The official death toll stands at around 50,000, and about 1.5 million people lost their homes. Türkiye's men's handball captain Cemal Kütahya and his family were among those to lose their lives.
In the wake of the earthquakes, professional handball clubs in the affected region had to withdraw from national competitions, and sports facilities were either destroyed, damaged or used to accommodate victims or store disaster relief material.
Following the earthquake, the Turkish Handball Federation provided relief materials and organised outdoor handball activities for children living in temporary tent camps.
However, the #HandballHeals initiative is aimed at developing a sustainable and longer-term plan to support recovery efforts. It envisages an outdoor handball field for every tent camp within the next two years, allowing children and adults to play handball continuously. The federation will also enlarge and empower its volunteer base and provide disaster awareness and management education to handball stakeholders.
In the long run, the federation plans to lobby the authorities to construct earthquake-resistant handball halls while also supporting handball clubs and teams in the affected region for long-term growth and resilience.
The initiative will also establish street handball as a major component of the Turkish handball system rather than a one-time emergency case instrument and develop beach handball in the region.
#HandballHeals will have an estimated annual budget of €60,000 to cover equipment, transport and personnel costs, but the Turkish Handball Federation said it is also currently in need of size 0 and 1 balls suitable for outdoor play, outdoor handball fields and markings, portable goalposts and bags and clothing for players.
The initiative will be supported not only by the EHF but by other international organisations, national federations and local stakeholders.