Stating that the most common source of motivation among volunteers is a sense of humanitarian responsibility and disaster experience, Occupational Health and Safety Specialist Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan said, “Since our country is a disaster zone, the number of people with disaster experience is already high, and we can say that we are a society with high motivation to volunteer in disasters.”
Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan, Head of Üsküdar University Occupational Health and Safety Program, made evaluations regarding the importance of being a disaster volunteer, which is seen as a conscientious responsibility and a humanitarian duty.
Kağan stated that volunteer efforts in disasters appear in a very broad scope, including activities related to eliminating or reducing disaster risks before a disaster, post-disaster response activities, and post-disaster recovery activities. She said, “Within this scope, awareness-raising activities in society, disaster preparedness activities, and disaster-related training are carried out to reduce pre-disaster risks. For post-disaster response, logistical support for needs such as search and rescue, first aid, food, beverages, clothing, and shelter is provided, and for post-disaster recovery, work such as psychological, economic, and cultural support is carried out. Disaster volunteers have very important roles not only for the post-disaster stage but also for the pre-disaster risk reduction stage.”
The entire society, even the whole world, is socially and psychologically wounded
Emphasizing that a large part of society is affected by natural disasters, Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan said, “Especially in disasters like the recent Kahramanmaraş earthquake, which occur once in a century, cover a very wide geography, and cause great destruction, first, those living in the disaster-stricken area or witnessing the destruction and experiencing loss during the disaster, then those with relatives during the disaster, and finally, those who witness the losses and damages caused by the disaster by learning about them, as a result, the entire society, and even the whole world, is wounded socially and psychologically in various ways.”
Unity, togetherness, and solidarity feel good…
Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan stated that unity, togetherness, and solidarity make people feel good in difficult times, and she explained that after the Kahramanmaraş earthquake, they organized disaster awareness activities with the volunteer students of the university’s Red Crescent club.
Kağan noted that anyone who is helpful, sincere, responsible, and has strong human relations can participate in volunteer work in disasters, and stated that anyone who wishes can become a member of civil society organizations operating in disasters and actively participate in volunteer work in these organizations.
Regarding why people volunteer in disasters, Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan said, “In our nature, helping and doing good is seen as something that benefits all humanity spiritually. In fact, by meeting someone's needs, we are not only making the person whose needs are met happy; people are also making themselves happy.”
Kağan reminded that she herself was a volunteer in the Kahramanmaraş earthquake, and continued:
“I personally experienced this: while I felt bad seeing the destruction from the last earthquake, I felt better when I engaged in activities to heal the wounds of our brothers and sisters in the disaster area. In the last earthquake, there was probably not a single citizen who did not act with this feeling and offer help to the people in the region. This is because a fundamental sense of humanitarian responsibility emerges much more strongly in such major disasters.”
Our motivation to volunteer is high
Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan concluded her words by sharing her own experiences:
“As a result of our study with active volunteers in the Maraş earthquake, we concluded that the most common source of motivation is a sense of humanitarian responsibility and disaster experience. Since our country is a disaster zone, the number of people with disaster experience is already high, and we can say that we are a society with high motivation to volunteer in disasters. Indeed, we all witnessed this in the last major Maraş earthquake. I hope that by learning from this recent disaster, we will prevent future natural events from turning into disasters causing great destruction.”