Monday Morning…

we woke up to scary news from Turkey. A strong earthquake had hit the area where 5 Skoler runs 16 schools. We have followed the development very closely, and we have still not received any messages about children, staff or parents who have been injured or reported missing after the great disaster.

5 Skoler’s buildings were also not damaged during the earthquake. We are enormously grateful for that, but it can feel difficult to be happy about it when we learn hour by hour that the number of dead is increasing. Our thoughts are with all those who are currently going through a very difficult time.

In 5 Skoler we are facing a very serious situation. Some of our pipils cannot return to their homes, and their parents cannot uphold the family income. Many jobs have been lost, and there is nothing to protect the families and our pupils. Our already enormously vulnerable pupils have, if possible, become even more vulnerable.

5 Skoler has therefore rearranged part of the schools’ operations and the current status is as follows:

  • Our country manager, Ogun, has since Monday assisted the aid work in digging people out of the collapsed buildings.

  • Our tent schools continue to run as before. Here, 5 Skoler supports all pupils with lunch and food bags.

  • There are also families who have been rehoused in our tent schools.

  • We have set up soup kitchens in two of our city schools. This is where our pupils and their siblings, as well as the local people around the school, come and eat. They also have the opportunity to take a shower, get warm and use the school’s other facilities.

  • We have ordered close to 1000 food bags, which will be distributed in the next few days. One food bag is enough for a family for a month.

  • We have purchased 15 tents for our pupils’ families who can no longer live in their houses. These tents will be placed in the area around our school.

  • On 20-24 February we will start a collection of blankets, sleeping bags, jackets and tinned food. This can be delivered to Clever, Støberigade 14, 2450. We are at the address from 10am to 6pm every day. DSV is responsible for transport and logistics of the collected equipment, completely free of charge. 5 Skoler staff are at the other end, distributing equipment to the pupils and families who need it most.

On Thursday 9 February, 5 Skoler together with Umut held an event in front of  Torvhallerne in Copenhagen.

You can read about it here (in Danish)

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