AFAD volunteers gathered in Gümüşhane, experiences were shared.

AFAD volunteers in Gümüşhane gathered at an organization organized by the institution. The event, which was held in a family atmosphere where experience sharing took place, meals were enjoyed, and competitions were also held.

After the earthquake disasters on February 6, which profoundly affected the country and were described as the disaster of the century, the importance of the AFAD Volunteer system, which has been accelerated in training efforts, has once again been understood, and it continues to be successfully implemented in Gümüşhane.

About 40 people, including volunteers who facilitated the rescue of dozens of people by going to the region on the first day of the earthquake process and who received Support AFAD Volunteer training, spent a fulfilling day at AFAD at the invitation of the institution.

Volunteers gathered for breakfast and then listened to the experiences of volunteers who served in the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, one of the greatest disasters of the century. Volunteers sought answers through experience sharing to the question of what the biggest problem in the disaster area was, engaging in conversations with experienced volunteers and AFAD officials.

In a competition organized for tent setup, which is one of the most important needs in disaster areas, volunteers competed fiercely in teams of three to set up a tent as quickly as possible while having fun and gaining practical experience for disaster situations. The team that set up the tent in 4.5 minutes won first place, and everyone on the team received a disaster bag as a gift.

It was decided to organize the event, conducted under the organization of Branch Manager Taşkın Okur, on a much broader scale in the upcoming spring months. Okur expressed gratitude to all participants, stating that they are a big family and will grow even more.

The program, which concluded with a dinner invitation, featured a speech by Provincial Disaster and Emergency Management Director (AFAD) Hayati Kaya, who emphasized the importance of and support for volunteers, saying, “We want them to be with us constantly and support us. We want to bring our volunteer friends together to foster camaraderie, friendship, and a family atmosphere. We aim to create a kind of friendship culture, and I believe we have succeeded. They honored us by coming here early in the morning and supported the work we do here. By the end of the day, a friendship and family environment was created, which made us very happy. We will accelerate such events with the arrival of spring. We also plan to incorporate fun sports activities such as rope climbing, zip lining, darts, archery, and tug of war to engage our volunteers.”

Kaya noted the importance of the support provided by volunteers in Gümüşhane, stating, “The support they provide is very important to us. Currently, we do not have any accredited non-governmental organizations in our province. Therefore, the support our volunteer friends provide in logistics for search and rescue is very critical for us. Knowing that we have a logistics army behind us when we carry out search and rescue operations gives us comfort. Previously, our friends in Gümüşhane had worked in Adıyaman during the earthquakes, which are described as the disaster of the century. We heard commendable words about them, which honored and pleased us greatly.”

There are 2,430 registered individuals in the AFAD volunteer system in Gümüşhane, while the number of volunteers who received Support AFAD Volunteer training is 260.