We returned from the floods in Spain last Thursday night and flew to Türkiye last Saturday morning. We arrived in Istanbul within minutes of our Salt Lake visitors, Kylan Brown and Jacqueline Lovell-Lanz. On Sunday morning we stood outside the hotel at exactly 9:05 for three minutes of silence to commemorate the death of the founder of Türkiye. Sirens blare and everyone freezes where they are standing, to honor him.
We attended church at the Istanbul 2nd branch. There were 84 people in attendance because 40 of them were BYU students on a fabulous semester abroad program studying world religions. They have spent time in Germany, Italy, Greece, now Türkiye and are headed to India, Hong Kong, and Japan. Relief Society was a special experience with ten sisters in attendance -local residents from France, Canada, Pakistan, and Türkiye and visitors from the US.
That afternoon we hired a driver to show us as much of Istanbul as possible in four hours. We walked through a local market full of spices, teas, Turkish delight, and pampered cats.
We saw the Hippodrome and obelisks, and the outside of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
We flew to Gaziantep that evening where Eric & Cecila came from the Frankfurt area office to meet us. Because of flight delays we did not arrive until almost midnight. Meric (our translator) and Oguz were waiting for us at the airport with a driver. Faithful friends!
Kylan and Jacqueline came from HQ to do long term MEAL evaluations on the emergency humanitarian projects done in relation to the February 2023 earthquake. MEAL stands for Measure, Evaluate, Assess, Learn
MEAL DAY 1- THREE HOSPITALS, 1 HEALTH DIRECTORATE, 1 CONTAINER CAMP
The first stop was at the Dr Ersin Arslan Education & Research hospital in Gaziantep. This project was done in partnership with an NGO. We finished one floor containing an outpatient clinic. The unnamed NGO was to finish another floor with 14 operating rooms. They did not do as promised so we came to evaluate finishing the project ourselves.
The next project was initiated by Salt Lake in collaboration with Project Hope. Because documentation was lacking, we became detectives as we traveled 300km round trip stopping at hospitals, health departments and container camps trying to find items that had been delivered by a third party.
Cengiz Gokcek Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital
Besni Hospital
We located baby incubators, bedside monitors, and container camps that still house healthcare workers.
We were told that the solar water chlorination systems were donated to villages, and we never did find the generators. We learned that projects measures must be specific and if we work through NGO’s we need to insist on specific reporting information.
We filled out our MEAL evaluation online reports as we traveled, counseling together in our van as we drove 2 ½ hours back to our hotel.
MEAL DAY 2- TWO MOBILE CLINICS, TWO SCHOOLS
We drove two hours south to visit two mobile hospitals and two schools. On these visits we ask a lot of questions, we take pictures and verify that donated equipment is still functioning and is maintained, and we interview beneficiaries to see how they have been impacted by the donation. Lots of good collaboration happens during these long days of driving. We are learning so much from our Salt Lake MEAL experts.
Five mobile clinics were donated right after the earthquake. Two have been dismantled and packed away for another emergency. The three remaining clinics are still serving people while brick and mortar hospitals are rebuilt. Two are on the Syrian border. The first clinic we visited in Erzin currently serves as an ER and public clinic. Health care providers see 1,000 outpatients there each day.
The other clinic in Yayladagi is now used for C-Sections and other OB/GYN surgeries. 400 C-Sections were performed here last year.
We visited two of the three schools that were inaugurated a few weeks ago. We wish we were going to be here next Monday when these schools open and children are enjoying these new places of learning.
MEAL DAY 3- TWO CONTAINER CAMPS
We visited two container camps to evaluate the containers themselves, the water filters, and the air-conditioning/heating units.
We divided into three groups, each with an interpreter. Kylan suggested the women take the lead because it was mostly women at home. This was such a special experience. Even with the language barrier we were able to communicate heart to heart with these women. To be invited into their homes, to hug them and feel their gratitude was unforgettable- it was a sacred space.
The women in one camp have formed a co-op making purses. They had a successful sales day as our group almost cleaned out their inventory.
And the children were so delightful. They are on school holiday this week and they flock around us. Meric says that we are like movie stars to them- they are so sweet and repeat every English word they know.
A high school senior that spoke very good English told us how much it meant to him and his family that we would come to the container camp to ask them how they were doing and how the donated equipment was functioning. He said they have been wondering who the donors of the containers were, and they had wanted to thank them. It was a sweet experience. It is these personal connections that make all the other exhausting work we do worthwhile.
MEALS
We took time for one fabulous Turkish meal each day.
A quick stop at St. Peter’s church located very close to our hotel.
Spending last week having up close and personal encounters with flood victims in Spain, and this week with earthquake victims in Türkiye, has been a sobering experience. Two words keep coming to our minds: Resilience & Gratitude. These people are so strong! So strong! And so very grateful. They hug us and cry and thank us. We tell them that the funds used to help them came from people all over the world who love and care about them.
With love, Elder & Sister Lamb (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Lambs in Central Europe 