One of the children is Mehmet-Efe. He is five years old and has been attending for a year now. This safe space helps him process and cope with his memories of the earthquake. This year, in addition to working with the children, the emergency educational support has also been extended to mothers. Hurrem is one of them.

At the beginning of March 2025, another earthquake struck the Hatay region. The renewed quake brought memories flooding back; since then, Mehmet-Efe has talked almost daily about destroyed houses and buildings. Since he was only three at the time of the first earthquake, educators and his parents initially assumed he hadn’t really understood what had happened. However, when he joined the Child Friendly Space a year ago, the educators described him as insecure and aggressive. He also had trouble integrating into the group and didn’t speak at all. But just a few weeks later, he began to open up. “He slowly started speaking; he became calmer and more confident—both within himself and in the group,” Nergiz reports.

Due to a lack of oxygen during birth, Mehmet-Efe's development had been delayed. Now, he passes all developmental assessments at the doctor’s office, which his parents credit to the emergency pedagogical support provided by the Child Friendly Space: “The activities at the Child Friendly Space help our son a lot.”

Stories like these show how deeply affected the children are. Some were only a year old when the 2023 earthquake occurred—yet they carry the memories within them. Both the educators and the parents report that providing children with a safe space and a stable daily routine has a major impact on how they feel and behave. Mehmet-Efe’s doctor says: “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it—it’s working.”

In addition to the work with children in the Child Friendly Space, Dutch special needs educator and behavioral therapist Mariëtta Vasen worked with the children's mothers. After the children take part in activities in the “safe space” of the Child Friendly Space, they return to homes that are often tents or containers, with parents who are stressed and under pressure. To support them as well, Vasen offered workshops for the mothers. These focused on psychoeducation and self-care. Alongside group workshops, she provided space for the mothers to talk about the challenges they face.

Hurrem (name changed) is one of the mothers. She arrived early for the first workshop and immediately began speaking about the earthquake and the people she had lost. She shared her pain, but also her guilt for not feeling better, while knowing people in her hometown are suffering even more. When she returned the next day, she and other participants appeared more relaxed and uplifted. She spoke about her coping strategies and told of her husband, who is a great support to her, as well as her work in the garden and her baking. She kept attending the workshops, and in the final session, she shared her dream of selling her baked goods and talked about steps she could take to work toward that goal. The image of Hurrem—as one of the many people who lost so much in the earthquake and are now looking ahead—is encouraging and constantly reaffirms the importance of our work.

Another mother said at the end: “When I first heard about this workshop, I thought it was only for children. After the earthquake, the children received both financial and psychological support. But parents were helped too, and that made us very happy. I tried to manage on my own, but these sessions really helped me to organize my thoughts and plan better.”

Lina-Fée Bäuerle and Mariëtta Vasen