GSK Turkey and TOG Expand Scope of Activities at Adıyaman Support Center

Following the 6 February earthquakes, the Adıyaman Support Center established through the partnership of GSK Turkey and Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG) has achieved over 35,000 participants to date.

GSK Turkey General Manager Sriram Jambunathan and TOG General Manager Seçkin Karataş stated during their visit marking the first anniversary of 6 February that they aim to create a long-term and sustainable transformation for youth in the region in 2025.

Following the 6 February earthquakes that deeply affected Turkey, GSK Turkey and the Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG) established a comprehensive Support Center for the benefit of the earthquake-affected population. Through the project, trainings, implementations, psychosocial support and activities prepared by TOG experts contributed significantly to the recovery process of the entire population of the region, particularly children, women and youth, creating a social transformation.

GSK Turkey General Manager Sriram Jambunathan: "Since we actively began our work in October 2023, under the leadership of the TOG Team, we have supported and continue to support the recovery process of the entire population of the region, particularly children, youth and women at our Adıyaman Support Center. The center played a crucial role for the regional population during the period we have left behind and implemented activities that touched people's lives. To date, the Support Center has achieved over 35,000 participants through 1,165 events. In addition to Community Volunteers youth, a total of 90 GSK volunteer colleagues supported our work at the center with their active participation. We believe that the spirit of solidarity created here is very valuable."

Solidarity to Continue with Youth
Highlighting the importance of youth's role in the long-term transformation of the disaster area, Jambunathan continued:

"As we enter the second year of the project, in addition to our current work, we will focus more on empowering youth and building their hopes. Our goal is to transform this into a Youth Center with TOG's experience, and to enable youth themselves to build the solution."

TOG General Manager Seçkin Karataş: "After 6 February, we aimed to make the solidarity started by Community Volunteers youth in aid depots sustainable through 10 Support Centers we have established in 5 provinces. Through our work since 2023, our support centers have reached over 200,000 beneficiaries. GSK Turkey was one of the stakeholders who stood by us in creating this impact.

We have completed one year at our Support Center established in the container city in Adınşehir, Adıyaman. We have carried out and continue to carry out various activities to support individuals of all ages, particularly children and youth, in their recovery process. Life in container cities may appear from the outside to be merely a housing problem. However, life in these areas involves great challenges not only physically, but also psychologically and socially. Because the effects of a disaster do not end when the rubble is cleared. Rebuilding confidence and hope is a long-term process and we, as volunteers and experts working here, continue to be part of this process."

Karataş noted that youth play a critical role in the continuation of solidarity and continued:
"Given the destructive scale of the disaster, we foresee that the recovery process will be lengthy, and therefore we believe that solidarity must continue. We see that youth in our Support Center become empowered and play an active role in the social recovery process. Youth share the trainings they receive in different workshops first with their peers and then with their circles, building hope. As a youth foundation, we always place youth at the center of our work and know that recovery is possible with youth. Going forward, we also aim to position our centers as Youth Centers where youth play an active role."