Concern operations co-ordinator from Leitrim Village assisting earthquake survivors

“A disaster of astronomical proportions” is how Ros O’Sullivan, Head of Emergency Operations with Concern Worldwide, described the scenes in Turkey, during an interview from south-east Turkey with Joe Finnegan on Shannonside Radio last Friday.

Ros, who has been living in Leitrim Village for the past fifteen years, grabbed his ‘ever-ready’ travel bag for Turkey and said goodbye to his partner Úna and their three young children, within hours of the first earthquake, on the morning of February 6th.

Ros explained to listeners the vastness of the area damaged, by likening the epicentre to an area stretching from Letterkenny to Cork.

Ann Guckian, Úna McGoldrick with her daughters Eva and Ísa and her son Joe, and Jennifer Grimes.
Photo: Willie Donnellan

Tragically, he said what has happened in that area is as bad as anything he has ever seen. Given that Ros has been working with Concern for almost 30 years, (for many years in Africa, in the Philippines in 2013 after Typhoon Haiyan, in Nepal following the earthquake in 2015 and in Ukraine for much of the past 12 months) the magnitude of this crisis is put into context.

Almost as soon as the members of St Joseph’s Rosary Group in Leitrim Village became aware that Ros was heading up operations in Turkey, they set about organising a Coffee Morning Fundraising Event, to both support Ros and to assist Concern in their vital work in Turkey and Syria.

The event was held last Sunday after Mass, in St Joseph’s Centre, adjoining St Joseph’s Church in Leitrim Village. The hard-working group was overwhelmed by the generosity of local businesses who both contributed financially and sponsored raffle prizes (MACE, Leitrim Village; Leitrim office Supplies; Electric Bike Trails, The Leitrim Inn and Blueway Lodge, On The Edge Sharpening and Leitrim Surf Company), The Sign Warehouse in Drumshanbo for sponsoring wonderful signage to advertise the event, those who kindly donated many other raffle prizes, those who provided the home baking, served food and beverages, set up the centre etc.

Dan, Alicia and Mason Quinn pictured with James and Sonny Keane, Liam, Paschal and Michael Flynn and Joe Farrell. Photo: Willie Donnellan

St Joseph’s Rosary Group announced a staggering total raised of €4,750 to those in attendance at the Coffee Morning and as of Sunday night, it had climbed to €5,000… and money is still coming in!

Ros’s partner, Úna, spoke to the packed hall and recalled how, during the famine, the Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecit sent £1000 to Ireland and furthermore, the Ottoman Empire sent five ships from Istanbul to Drogheda, carrying grain and food to us during our time of need.

“It is indeed appropriate that Ireland should return some of this generosity”, she said.

A message from Ros
Úna read to the gathering, from a very poignant email from Ros in Eastern Turkey:

“I reached Eastern Turkey three days after the huge earthquake that shook and rocked an area the size of Ireland. The devastation I found here is both immense and staggering. Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed, burying entire families and leaving in excess of 50,000 people dead, both in Turkey and across the border in NW Syria. The stories we have been hearing are heart-rending.

“Over 2 million people have been left homeless, struggling to find shelter, food, and water. People are traumatized and move around in a daze. The scale of this tragedy is shocking and almost overwhelming.

“Concern has an amazing team on the ground in Turkey. We have been in this region for years, working with Syrians displaced by war, so we know the context, we have the networks, we have the relationships, we have the contacts and we are very well positioned to respond.

Jenny Gilmartin, Alicia Keane, Marella Feely and Mary Mullaney at the coffee morning in Leitrim Village.
Photo: Willie Donnellan

“On the very day of the earthquake, Concern staff were already cooking and distributing hot food, water, and shelter materials to people in need and they have been working flat out ever since.

“As part of the response, Concern has flown in a team of experienced emergency professionals from around the world to quickly help scale up the aid effort. I am proud to count myself amongst that motley crew!

“Just this weekend, we have received two Boeing 747s cargo planes loaded with tents, blankets, hygiene and sanitation kits, and other essential supplies, paid for by the Irish government and we have much more on the way. We are already delivering them to families and communities around the affected region.

“In the coming weeks we aim to reach over 25,000 families who need help. And it’s not just Turkey. Northwest Syria has also been really badly affected, and because of a decade of war in that country, people there are much more vulnerable. Concern is working with a well-established partner organisation to get vital supplies to affected communities and we will continue to scale up.

“Over the weeks and months ahead, we will support Turkey and Syria with shelter, water and sanitation, food, hygiene items and, very importantly, psychosocial support for the huge numbers of people left traumatized by this terrible event, especially the children.

“Here in Turkey, school children in their history classes learn about our own Gorta Mór, our great Irish famine and how, at that time, the Turkish people sent five ships loaded with food for those in Ireland who were hungry and afraid. I am immensely proud to be here right now and involved in returning that generosity, now that it is their time of need.

“The response so far from Irish people to this terrible tragedy is astounding. Their generosity towards people in need never ceases to amaze me, never ceases to humble me.

“I’d like to thank my friends and neighbours in Leitrim Village for stepping out and supporting our emergency appeal.

“Concern will use your money wisely and well to help relieve the suffering of earthquake affected families in Turkey and Syria’. - Ros O’Sullivan 18/02/2023

The community of Leitrim Village and its surrounds is with Ros in spirit and goodwill, and indeed with all aid workers, and is cognisant of the sacrifice that they and their families make, in working in such difficult and challenging conditions. Those at home, who give so generously to organisations such as Concern, make this vital work possible.