In the worst disaster of the region’s history, the series of earthquakes that have devastated Turkey and northern Syria continue to take a high toll of victims and have inflicted unimaginable chaos and suffering on the region with the destruction of vital infrastructure. The lives of many of our ITI colleagues have also been directly and harshly impacted by this humanitarian crisis.
Following the closure of universities in the affected areas and disruption to education as well as treatment of patients, the ITI Section Turkey and Azerbaijan has swiftly responded by implementing a number of local initiatives. These include education events to raise money for victims and to help patients whose treatment has been interrupted by the tragedy. The Leadership Team is also organizing a mentoring program for dental students to ensure their training can continue in some form.
In a first step, the ITI is organizing an online classroom and educational content for ITI Section Turkey and Azerbaijan. This will facilitate efforts to provide education as well as opening a communication channel between the Section and classroom users to ensure that help reaches those who need it. We are also suspending ITI membership fees for those in the affected region.
We will support the Section towards helping their people. Our thoughts and sympathies go out to all those whose lives have been shattered by this tragedy. It is hard to imagine the grief and anguish they are experiencing but they are most definitely in the thoughts of the rest of the world.
If you would like to support the Section Turkey and Azerbaijan in their activities, please contact the Section Leadership Team.
