Three years after the devastating Turkiye-Syria earthquake, which killed around 60,000 people and caused an estimated $150 billion in damages, survivors are slowly rebuilding their lives with the support of Islamic Relief’s entrepreneurship programme. The earthquake, one of the most powerful in the Middle East and Levant, affected approximately 15.7 million people and destroyed tens of thousands of buildings, including nearly 12,000 in Gaziantep Province alone.
Women and girls were disproportionately affected by the disaster, facing heightened protection and health risks during the emergency and often being marginalised in recovery efforts. Many women struggled to return to work or education, making targeted support crucial for long-term recovery.
Islamic Relief focused on supporting women entrepreneurs to restart and rebuild their businesses through cash grants, technical assistance, and expert training. Büşra Çelik, a 34-year-old mother of three and textile business owner in Gaziantep, lost nearly everything in the earthquake, including her home, shop, machinery, and several family members. With Islamic Relief’s assistance in purchasing new machinery and securing a shop, her profits are nearly restored to pre-earthquake levels, and she hopes to surpass them soon.
Another beneficiary, Hacer Sönmez, a mother of five and textile entrepreneur, faced economic hardship even though her business premises survived the earthquake. Support from Islamic Relief in 2024, including new machinery, relocation to a busier area, and mentorship, helped her business become 30% more profitable than before the disaster.
Kehriban Parspancı, CEO of Islamic Relief Türkiye, highlighted that the recovery of these women’s businesses demonstrates both their resilience and the positive impact of international support. She emphasized that the programmes not only help individual entrepreneurs but also contribute to revitalising the local economy, empowering women, and ensuring families have access to food and financial security.
To date, Islamic Relief has assisted over 400 entrepreneurs in three earthquake-affected cities, providing cash, training, and technical expertise. These efforts are part of a broader recovery and reconstruction programme coordinated with local authorities, which also delivered lifesaving aid—such as food, cash, shelter, medicine, and hygiene kits—to hundreds of thousands of people across Turkiye and Syria in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
