International delegate, Dallas Roy returns to Türkiye to support recovery after the earthquakes
3 July 2023
Dallas Roy, an operations management specialist with many years' experience working in disaster zones, has returned to Ankara, Türkiye. His second mission will focus on supporting recovery for the thousands of people affected by the earthquakes.
On 6 February this year, two large earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6, struck southeast Türkiye and bordering northwest Syria, causing immense destruction. More than 60,000 people lost their lives, and thousands were injured. An estimated 14.7 million people in both countries have been directly affected.
Four months on, nearly three million people still live in tents. They’ve lost everything – homes, loved ones, and livelihoods – and are now starting to rebuild their lives again. 
Supporting people get back on their feet
As the Türkiye Earthquake Operations Manager for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Dallas is leading the transition from immediate earthquake response to recovery – enabling people to get back on their feet. Dallas says, “this phase includes helping people regain their livelihoods by providing cash grants to people in areas such as agriculture, animal husbandry, and small-to-medium businesses, as well as ongoing cash voucher support to the most vulnerable, and building resilience among affected communities.”
Dallas will be based in Ankara but will also spend time in the earthquake region to see and listen to people on the ground to help inform strategic decisions.
His first mission to Türkiye was in February this year, soon after the disaster struck. He worked in Ankara and Gaziantep and was part of the IFRC’s emergency response leadership. His work included strategic planning, co-ordination, and budget management supporting the leadership of Kizilay – Turkish Red Crescent – whose staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to support those in need, since day one.
Türkiye Earthquake Operations Manager, Dallas Roy
How your support has helped
Dallas’ deployments have been possible thanks to the generosity of hundreds of New Zealanders, who donated to our Türkiye Syria Earthquakes Appeal. We exceeded our aim and raised over NZD$1 million to help those affected.
Thank you to everyone who contributed. The Appeal closed on Sunday 2 July.
Your generosity has allowed us to support those communities most in need in both countries through the emergency response, in the transition to recovery, and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement’s ongoing assistance on the ground.
Türkiye Syria earthquakes – response and recovery efforts
Continuing Red Cross and Red Crescent support
Local Red Crescent teams in both countries continue to provide for basic needs – shelter materials, food, water, blankets mattresses and hygiene items. In Türkiye, Kizilay is responsible for coordinating food distribution in the affected region. The scale of this work is enormous. Local teams have provided more than 300 million meals for people in need – and continue to do so.
Mass food production
In Syria and Türkiye, Red Crescent teams are also working to improve access to water, sanitation and health services to limit infectious disease outbreaks in the cramped tent cities.
Local teams are also scaling up psychosocial support to help alleviate the distress and psychological impacts of the disaster. In Syria, Syrian Arab Red Crescent staff and volunteers have provided psychological first aid to more than 170,000 people, especially children, as well as to paramedics and first responders.
Tent school in Syria
More information
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Find missing family
Our Restoring Family Links team is on standby to receive enquiries from people living in Aotearoa New Zealand who have lost contact with loved ones due to the disaster.
Donate to support our work
Our Türkiye Syria Earthquakes Appeal is now closed but if this story has inspired you to support our work around the world and here in Aotearoa New Zealand, you can still donate to our Where the Need is Greatest Fund. Donations to this fund support all our humanitarian work and help us respond to disasters and crises, wherever the need is greatest.
Give hope to people in need, donate to Where the Need is Greatest
Ongoing recovery work
You can learn more about the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement's ongoing work in the recovery in this video.
NZRC International Delegate, Dallas Roy, returns to Türkiye for a second mission
Thanks to donations, we’ve supported the International Red Cross Movement to provide vital relief in Türkiye and deployed one of the project management specialists, Dallas Roy, to Türkiye twice.
His work directly helped local Red Crescent teams on the ground deliver basic needs to people affected by earthquakes this year.
While at home between deployments, Dallas talked to us about his work in Türkiye.
Dallas:
When you go to the most affected areas and you see the level of damage and destruction to buildings and infrastructure, that really brings home the scale of the disaster. Plus, the amount of people that are living in tented camps. Then you go to the kitchens that are providing the mass food, delivery of hot meals three times a day to everybody in the tents, you recognize how big it is. Until you see the kitchens, It's really hard to understand how many hundreds of thousands of meals a day are being produced and delivered to people that need that ongoing support.
Transition
Dallas:
I was deployed with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies rapid response – surge – as operations manager. So, I was based in Ankara for the first few weeks of the operation where I was supporting directly to the Turkish Red Crescent leadership and their National Emergency Operations Centre that was running their response operation for the earthquake.
Transition
Dallas:
In my next deployment to Türkiye, I will be supporting the Turkish Red Crescent leadership with the ongoing planning for the recovery phase of the operation, helping people with their livelihood needs and getting back to some level of normality in the coming months.
Transition
Dallas:
Going from response to recovery in such a large disaster response is a big undertaking. It doesn't happen all at once.
Supporting people to get back their livelihoods through provision of conditional cash support for things like agriculture, animal husbandry, supporting small to medium enterprises, supporting cash for people living with disabilities, for people's health, etc. Whatever the needs are ongoing for the most vulnerable and most affected of the population.
Thank you, for your support
Read Dallas' story of his first deployment in March this year.
Our international delegate Dallas Roy provides an update from the earthquake zone in Türkiye