Op Ed: By UNICEF Türkiye Representative Paolo Marchi

Three years have passed since the devastating earthquakes struck Türkiye. For many, the pain remains, and the wounds are still healing. I remember walking through Hatay in those first days after the tragedy—destruction all over, families displaced, children uncertain, and entire communities in complete shock. Returning now, I see changes: schools reopened, young people gathering again to study, to pass time, and mothers finding strength in one another. These signs of recovery are real, yet they also remind me how much more is still needed. It is a reminder about how recovery is about sustaining the resilience and determination of children, young people, and families who continue to carry this tragedy in their hearts. Their courage inspires hope, but their needs call us to keep standing with them.

During my visit to the Kiptaş Container City which UNICEF supports in partnership with the Hatay Municipality, I saw three spaces that have become lifelines for the community. In the Youth Area, teenagers gather to study, socialize, and reclaim a sense of normalcy. They told me their greatest wish is to continue their education, with dreams of attending universities in Ankara, becoming lawyers, or working internationally. They want to play an active role in rebuilding their community and keep dreaming.

In the Early Learning Rooms, children aged 4–8 were making crafts—some shy, others proudly offering me their art as a way of saying welcome. Their joy reminded me that when we stand for and with children, joy returns, and learning, playing, and healing become possible again. Next door, I met mothers eager to share their stories, determined to show how they continue to care for their children despite hardship. In the Mother–Child Corner, now transformed into Early Childhood Intervention center, I met a mother with her baby who had come for breastfeeding support, and guidance so that she can care for her child in ways that early development.

These spaces are more than programmes; they are places of hope. They remind us that even in the shadow of disaster, children deserve opportunities to grow, learn and dream. Speaking with mothers, fathers, and young people, I felt their determination to rebuild not only their homes but their futures.

UNICEF has been present since the first days after the earthquake response, working alongside government, municipalities, and partners. The year 2023 marked the peak of this response. UNICEF supported the government-led national effort across both urban and rural communities, as well as temporary settlements. UNICEF supported affected families access water, sanitation, and hygiene, health and nutrition, child protection, and education services.

Through the generous support of donors and the work of civil society partners, UNICEF helped meet immediate needs, supported early recovery, and continues to contribute to building back better. By the end of 2023, more than 1.5 million children and caregivers received mental health and psychosocial support. Over 3 million people gained access to safe water. More than 1.5 million children were immunized, nearly 947,000 accessed formal and non-formal education, and over 102,000 families received cash assistance.

In 2025, UNICEF continued to strengthen access to health, nutrition, and early childhood development services in earthquake-affected provinces. This included working with partners to provide neonatal care, establishing health clinics in container cities, and supporting health professionals provide early childhood care, immunization, breastfeeding, and counselling services. This past year alone, 73,357 children accessed vaccines through UNICEF-supported mechanisms, while nearly half a million people used safe and appropriate sanitation facilities.

Education has remained a priority. In partnership with municipal authorities in Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, and Şanlıurfa, as well as civil society partners, UNICEF supported school retention, re-enrolment, and the expansion of education services. As a result, 21,165 children accessed formal or non-formal education, including early learning support.

Behing each of these numbers, is a child, a caregiver, a family - the courage of a mother soothing her child, the laughter of friends studying together, the quiet strength of a teenager planning for tomorrow.

On this third anniversary, I invite all of us to pause and remember. To honor those we lost, to stand with those still healing, and to continue supporting children and families who carry this burden every day. My meeting with young people, mothers and young children is captured in a short video accompanying this piece. I hope you will watch it—but also feel the resilience and humanity that shine through even in the hardest of times.