Location: Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

Date of Start and Completion: February 2023 – February 2024

Clients: USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) – Gaziantep and Kahramanmaraş Municipalities

In this contract, Protek-Yapi served as a sub-consultant under Miyamoto International Inc.

Project Description:

The USAID/BHA 2023 Turkey Earthquake Response Activity seeks to provide rapid and sustainable emergency shelter solutions that accelerate the safe return home of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the early recovery of affected communities.

With a focus on the Gaziantep and Elbistan cities, the interventions proposed under this project support families in the Gaziantep and Kahramanmaraş provinces to assess the safety and habitability of their homes (or small businesses if located in the same buildings), and implement emergency repairs. Educational campaigns, trainings, the provision of technical assistance, and the dissemination of resources equip households and communities with the knowledge needed to facilitate the rapid return of displaced households, foster autonomous community growth in disaster preparedness, and strengthen confidence in the safety of homes to withstand future shocks.

A variety of means was explored to best achieve the project goals, which were integrated into the proposed interventions below:

Activity 1: The Activity specifically aimed to reduce unnecessary community fear and uncertainty through the provision of clear, fact-based, independent, and neutral technical advice and guidance on the habitability and safety of buildings and housing units. Engineering teams identified undamaged Level structures. Where needed, the team made additional reparability assessments on structures. During the assessment, engineers supported families by assessing the safety and habitability of their homes. A key message flyer in which related engineering definitions have been explained in a very simple and understandable way was prepared and distributed among families.

Due to this activity, more than 20,000 households in Gaziantep and Elbistan have been equipped with improved knowledge of structural safety issues as they pertain to their homes. This activity has benefited upwards of 70,000 individuals and contributed to a reduction in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Activity 2: In this activity, the assessments provided households with essential information and guidance to rapidly, cost-effectively, and safely repair lightly damaged houses and apartment buildings for habitability.

For this intervention, a repairability and cost quantification assessment methodology was developed and made available in an App-based format. Approximately 2500 lightly damaged structures were assessed, and the repair needs, cost estimates, and Bill of Quantities (BOQs) for each inspected building were produced. This has provided the targeted households with the necessary information to rapidly, and safely implement cost-effective repairs. This intervention has benefited at least 10,000 households, or upwards of 45,000 individuals.

The repair strategies for each building type have been packaged into guidelines and communication materials for broader dissemination and use. The guidelines and corresponding communication materials have been designed for both technical and non-technical audiences, incorporating visual aids, key messages, and data expressed in easily understandable terms. The material served as a communication tool to guide the best and safest methods for repairing non-structural damage. It has also provided households with information on common types of damages, their repairability, average repair costs, and other relevant data or details as deemed important.

Community Engagement and Trust Building: Town-hall meetings, awareness campaigns, and direct interactions were conducted to engage with the affected communities, build trust, and restore confidence in the safety of their homes. These efforts aimed to facilitate the achievement of the project goals. This step included town-hall meetings and community events conducted in each of the thirty-eight districts of Gaziantep and also in Elbistan. A rapid study on community self-recovery capacity was conducted to ensure that the Activity and associated interventions are locally and politically relevant and leverage existing knowledge and skillsets. Based on this study, a multifaceted plan was designed and implemented, which included the following components:

• Baseline surveys in tent camps and container settlements.
• Face to Face communication.
• Mukhtar meetings.
• Tow-hall meetings.
• Social media campaign.

Due to this activity, more than 20,000 households in Gaziantep and Elbistan have been equipped with improved knowledge of structural safety issues as they pertain to their homes. This activity has benefited upwards of 70,000 individuals and contributed to reducing the number of IDPs. Also, approximately more than 7,000 people attended in-person events, including the town-hall meetings. In addition, through social media campaigns, the activity successfully reached more than 100,000 people across Turkey.

More information can be reached using the following link:

https://miyamotoprotek.com/