Turkey

Responding to the needs of Syrian communities

GOAL’s work began with the distribution of non-food items and food vouchers to displaced Syrians living in Suruc. Expanding across the country's southern regions and in Ankara, GOAL’s programme now includes focused Individual Protection Assistance (IPA). This sees our team work to reduce, mitigate and respond to the violence and abuse that stems from the negative coping mechanisms of humanitarian crises. As part of this, GOAL works closely with migrant groups to help them better understand their rights and protect themselves – building resilience through peer education and mentorship, improved access to legal support, and other interventions.

GOAL integrates its services into those offered by the Turkish government or other humanitarian providers.

Improved psycho-social support for refugees

Closely linked to our work in Emergency Response, GOAL has worked to address gaps in health service delivery for Syrian populations in Turkey.

GOAL also focuses on the protection of vulnerable individuals. This includes the provision of psycho-social support to refugee households to help them build coping strategies in the face of protracted displacement. We also help children relieve their stress by identifying and expressing their emotions, as well as creating stories with successful conclusions. This support extends to their caregivers, with GOAL helping families to identify the symptoms of stress and share coping strategies to manage it.

Financial resilience during a protracted crisis

GOAL Turkey is looking to increase its programmatic response by focusing on poverty reduction and resilience. This will see GOAL support the creation of market driven livelihoods opportunities for vulnerable households - offering skills development, financial and market support.

Within this, GOAL is looking to increase access to employment opportunities, entrepreneurship and vocational training (through accredited courses). The team will also work to facilitate language and life-skills training, as well as providing mentorship, employability support (CV and application assistance) and guided business registration. This will help displaced populations access the opportunities they need to build financial resilience during, and beyond, this protracted humanitarian crisis.

GOAL's Covid-19 response in Turkey

GOAL has carried out a survey of refugees in Turkey to better adapt our response to their specific needs. The results show many refugees are not getting the correct information due to language barriers and remote locations. GOAL has been working with these communities to best prepare them with the correct information. So far, our awareness campaign has reached 1,926 people.