Turkish Red Crescent Society

Founded 1868 Members/volunteers: 1,500 (2005) Staff: 1,631 (2005) Expenditure: CHF 35. 3 million (2004)

1. Foundation

Mission The Turkish Red Crescent Society is a legal entity governed by the statutes which were drawn up in conformity with the Movement’s Fundamental Principles.

Its mission is ‘to help the most vulnerable through mobilizing community power and resources; anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances without making any discrimination, regardless the cause of suffering, aiming at protecting the human dignity through developing mutual understanding, friendship, respect, peace and cooperation.’

Legal base The Turkish Red Crescent was founded in 1868. It was recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) the same year and joined the League (now the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) in 1930. The Turkish Red Crescent areas of activity are defined in its statutes, which were reviewed during the recent General Assembly in April 2005 and were submitted to the parliament of Turkey for their final endorsement.

There are 574 branches spread across the country. Some of them are well-functioning and active, particularly in the field of health and social welfare services, while the others need to be developed. The Red Crescent has some 1,500 registered volunteers.

2. Capacity

Leadership The main bodies of the Turkish Red Crescent are the general assembly, the central committee (23 members), the executive committee (seven members) and the board of auditors (five members).

The general assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the Turkish Red Crescent. It is made up of representatives elected by local branch congresses, members of the central committee and auditors. It holds its session once a year in April. The central committee is made up of 23 members and meets monthly. The executive committee is composed of seven members and meets every week, while the board of auditors has five-members in charge of auditing the accounts of the central committee. At branch level, a similar structure exists which includes a branch congress, branch council and branch executive committee.

The policy making body of the Turkish Red Crescent is the executive committee, and the chief executive officer is the director general; the secretary general is a member of the executive committee.

Human resources The Turkish Red Crescent employs approximately 1,631 people . Branch staff are paid directly by branches. In 2004, personnel expenditure was 84.96 per cent of the total expenditure.

Financial resources The Turkish Red Crescent has financial independence, due to its revenue-generation schemes. Its total expenditure in 2004 was approximately CHF 35.3 million. Major income sources are Red Crescent

1 assets and revenue-generating activities, blood-transfusion services and donations. The Turkish Red Crescent does not receive subsidies from the government; although, it has some financial privileges established by law.

The Turkish Red Crescent operates on a fiscal-year programme budget. Accounts are issued and audited at the end of the fiscal year by the board of auditors. The board has to submit the accounts to the president at least one month before the general assembly. Each year, the budget and the accounts of the previous year are finalized following the approval of the general assembly.

Material resources The Turkish Red Crescent has 18 warehouses, 10 blood centres, 29 blood banks, 19 blood stations, four elderly homes, eight student dormitories, eight youth camps and two day-care centres. It also has five major industrial enterprises – a syringe factory (MEDPLAST), a mineral water factory (AFYONKARAHISAR), an insurance company (AYMED), a construction company (EMEK INSAAT) and a blood production processing company (KANSAS). The Red Crescent also owns a tent production factory, located at the Disaster Operation Centre (AFOM, as it is called in Turkish) in Ankara.

The Turkish Red Crescent owns many real estate properties donated by the public.

Organization/planning The Turkish Red Crescent undertakes its actions within the framework of the International Federation’s Strategy 2010, focusing particularly on the four core areas identified in the plan.

The measures taken recently by the management of the national society, the revision of the strategic plan, establishment of new units at the headquarters to better coordinate the implementation of the plan etc., demonstrate that the Turkish Red Crescent is committed to the restructuring process. The Turkish Red Crescent has reviewed its 2004–2008 strategic plan and replaced it with 2005–2009 new strategic plan.

Monthly progress reports are prepared by each department and issued as an annual report at the end of the year.

Partne rships The Turkish Red Crescent, represented by its president, is currently a member of the International Federation’s Governing Board.

It has good working relations with many international organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in Turkey including United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Turkish Red Crescent is also a member of the Balkans, Mediterranean, Black Sea conferences, European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), Middle East/North Africa (MENA) and participates in the International Crescent of Islamic Committee.

An immediate and generous response to the International Federation appeal in the wake of two major earthquakes (August and November 1999) has generated fresh opportunities for the Turkish Red Crescent to renew partnerships with sister societies. 30 per cent of the International Federation members responded to the emergency and a number of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, including those from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Iraq, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States had programmes in the country.

The Turkish Red Crescent contributes to various international relief operations. During the Balkan crisis, the national society or ganized and managed refugee camps in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Most recently , the Turkish Red Crescent contributed to the Asia tsunami operation. It has launched a

2 national fund raising campaign and raised 35 million US dollars to help the victims of the December 2004 tsunami. The Red Crescent has helped thousands of people in the affected countries.

3. Performance

Activities

Disaster relief Turkey is a disaster-prone country and the Turkish Red Crescent has substantial practical experience in emergency relief operations. A major strength of the Red Crescent is its disaster response capacity, which includes standby capacities for temporary shelter and relief. The national society has in stock 37,186 tents, 267,868 blankets, 220 stoves, 100 mobile kitchens and 49,308 sleeping bags.

The Red Crescent deals with frequent small-scale disasters. In response to the two devastating earthquakes in 1999, the Turkish Red Crescent provided over 97,163 tents, 307,626 blankets, 97,790 stoves, 55,318 sleeping bags, food for 14.8 million people and a large amount of other relief items.

In 2001, after the floods in Hatay, the Turkish Red Crescent provided ten mobile kitchens, 658 tents, 2,000 blankets, 350 beds and food for 93,000 people.

In February 2002, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 on Richter scale occurred in Afyon. In response, the Turkish Red Crescent provided 20,000 tents, 50,100 blankets, 11,682 stoves, food for 440,450 people and a large amount of other relief items. Some 2,198 people affecte d by the earthquake were provided with medical services.

In May 2003, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 on Richter scale hit Bingol in south-eastern Turkey. In response, the TRCS provided 14,031 tents, 18,262 blankets and food for 643,600 people and other relief items.

Disaster preparedness A major disaster preparedness and management programme commenced in 2000, which aims at modernizing and strengthening the Turkish Red Crescent preparedness for disaster response. With sponsorship of the American Red Cross, a disaster operation centre (AFOM) was set up in Ankara to deliver timely, efficient and effective assistance to people affected by disasters.

The Turkish Red Crescent has a total of eight regional disaster response and logistics centre based in Istanbul (Marmara region), Manisa (Aegean region), Duzce (Black sea region), Ankara (Central Anatolia), Adana (Southern Anatolia ), Tokat (Central Anatolia) Erzurum (Northern Anatolia ) and Elazig (Southeast Anatolia). They are established to utilize local resources and thereby decrease the response time needed to reach and assist an affected area. AFOM in Ankara provides technical guidance and support to the regional and local disaster response and logistics centres.

Social welfare Turkish Red Crescent provides social services via its four elderly homes, eight student dormitories, eight youth camps and two day-care centres.

In addition, as part of the disaster preparedness programme of the Turkish Red Crescent, a psychosocial programme has been developed with the International Federation support. Within the programme, four community centres were set up in different provinces of the Marmara region. The centres have been outreaching into their communities, establishing themselves as a focus of community life, providing facilities for a variety of activities including health courses, art, singing, and sewing classes, weddings, school plays, a toy exchange, a library, and a computer centre. Governmental and non-governmental organisations often use these centres for information dissemination and educational programmes.

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Health services The Turkish Red Crescent provides health services via 37 medical centres to those who do not have any social health insurance or who are on low incomes. Approximately, 10 per cent of the patients receive services free of charge . Annually , the Red Crescent centres serve some 2,305,354 people.

Blood services The Turkish Red Crescent has been involved in blood banking since 1957. At present, it operates 10 blood centres and 19 blood stations throughout the country, which supply 25 per cent of the blood requirements of the country.

First aid The Turkish Red Crescent runs first-aid training courses at community levels. In recent years, it has reached up to 14,000 people. The society aims at expanding its role as a provider of first aid via volunteers.

HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS has been identified as one of the priority areas of the Turkish Red Crescent’s health work. An HIV/AIDS programme, supported by the Federation Secretariat, has started in 2002. The programme aims to raise public awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention and transmission to reduce the spread of the virus and to encourage change in the attitudes towards people living with HIV.

In 2004, through a network of volunteers, the Red Crescent trained over 6,000 schoolchildren and university students. Via media campaigns and printed information materials, it is estimated that it has reached to 11 million people.

The Turkish Red Crescent is a member of the National AIDS Commission and works together with the Ministries of Health and National Education, governmental and non-governmental agencies and universities. The Society is committed to contribute more resources, staff and volunteers to its HIV/AIDS efforts in the future.

Youth The Turkish Red Crescent headquarters and some branches help young people from poor families with scholarships (some 10,000 students), dormitories and organize summer camps for both successful and needy students. There are eight student dormitorie s and eight youth camps throughout the country. One of the youth camps serves as an international camp in Istanbul.

Training Between 1998 and 2004, 283 training sessions were organized by the national society’s training department on the Movement, disaster preparedness and response, first aid, ABCD basic disaster awareness, reducing non-structural hazards, project planning, communication and information technology, human resources and skills development, etc. In total, 6,342 people participated in these training sessions.

4. Further information

For further information, visit the Turkish Red Crescent’s web site: http://www.kizilay.org.tr

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