Bellefonte teen talks of time in Turkiye following devastating earthquakes
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A multi-story building was destroyed by the massive earthquake in Antakya, Turkiye.
The news reporters and newspapers gave grim reports on Turkiye (also known as Turkey)… A massive earthquake had destroyed the giant city of Antakya. Everything was destroyed and most of the buildings are in the process of being torn down and rebuilt. People are reeling in shock from the devastation.
Schools in Antakya were closed after the earthquake and are not expected to be reopened soon. Many of the people are moving in with relatives in other cities to finish up the school year. Air quality deteriorates as dust rises into the air from the demolition.
Streets are shut down as new electric wiring is put up. Life has come to a standstill for the majority of Antakya.
Early on the morning of Feb. 6, 2023, a massive 7.8 earthquake shook Antakya and the surrounding areas of Turkiye. Buildings collapsed without warning, killing thousands instantly. Families were separated and chaos and panic reigned. Life would never again be the same.
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Hosanna Young, 17, a home-schooled graduate who lives with her family in Bellefonte, had the opportunity to travel to Antakya, Turkiye, in March 2023. Hosanna worked in a kitchen providing three meals daily for those who had survived the massive earthquakes on Feb. 6.
Throughout that morning, those who were able crawled from the rubble, but many were left helplessly trapped under multiple-story buildings and were forced to wait until help could come. Groans, cries and sobs echoed through the seemingly empty city. Then, in the middle of the day, terror and fear climaxed as another 7.7 earthquake tore through the city, burying many survivors beneath the rubble, never to be seen again. It was a story of complete desperation and defeat.
It was into this city that Hosanna Young, a Bellefonte teen with a love for Christ, stepped, along with her team, just a month after the earthquakes had spread their devastation.
This same teenager knew nothing of the heartache, anger and fear that had ravaged the place that would become her home for three weeks. Anticipating the trip, Hosanna did not realize the stress and exhaustion she would face while bringing aid to the Turkish people, until she lived it and felt it for herself.
Hosanna’s only thoughts were of how fortunate she was to be able to fly to the other side of the world to serve these people who had endured such a tragic and horrifying ordeal. Those same people who were still struggling to start their lives over again. Certainly, it was not an opportunity that many 17-year-olds receive, and she was thrilled to be included.
Following is Hosanna’s account of the humanitarian work she was able to participate in while spending three weeks in Turkiye and the overall experience of her trip.
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Shown from a high mountain point is the camp that Hosanna and her team stayed at in Turkiye. Teams of volunteers stayed in tents while providing humanitarian aid to those affected by the earthquakes.
Merhaba! (“Hello!”)
“We arrived at the camp on March 9 and had a tour of the place. From then on it was work nonstop at camp. There were five on my team, and we stayed in the Hatay Province in Antakya. My team leader was a good family friend of ours and the other three guys I knew by name only. The other girl was my partner and friend while we were there,” said Hosanna.
Hosanna and the only other female on her team worked in the kitchen while the three men built 15 shipping-container sized houses, set up tents and built hoop-houses — which look like greenhouses but have metal, water-proof roofs.
The men worked to get electricity and running water set up for the relief camp. Workers would often need supplies or run out of materials that halted their progress. The closest place to get supplies was more than an hour away. The systems and schedules around camp would eventually improve and then continue to operate more smoothly by the time of their departure.
“In the kitchen the two of us were helping prepare three meals a day for some 4,000-6,000 people each day before Ramadan. When Ramadan began, which was five days before we left, that number was cut to about one-third of the original crowd. It stayed that way for a few days, but then the people began trickling back in,” Hosanna said.
One of the leader’s at camp explained to the team that people would keep coming for food because they were already cold and tired, and they didn’t want to be hungry as well. Ramadan is a holy tradition, where people refrain (or fast) from eating food to devote their time in prayer to improve their spirituality.
“We were constantly running out of food, instead of having a problem storing too many leftovers. Every day that we were there the camp leaders were making new improvements around camp, but the one thing we did not have in place for the majority of our stay in Hatay was a schedule for serving the food. As a result, we always served until we ran out of food. Breakfast was generally served from 8-11 a.m.; lunch was usually from noon until 2 or 3 p.m.; and dinner was generally around 5-7 p.m. Many times we would try to stop serving when we thought people were done coming, but as soon as we would carry the pots into the kitchen, more people would show up asking for food,” Hosanna said. “If we tried to tell them the meal was over, they would try to convince us that they were the ones who needed an exception, they had children, friends and neighbors, they needed to get to work, or any other reason under the sun they could say to get the food, and we would always feed them until the food ran out.”
Frequently, workers and staff would take their own food out first or else there would not be any left. Sometimes staff and workers would hide to eat their own food so that they had a chance to eat it in peace. People were afraid there would not be enough food, and most times the food had to be rationed because no one knew how many would come for food that day.
“Serving the food was a really intense job, especially because I didn’t understand the language, although I did learn some essential words very quickly. We all felt exhausted when we could finally sit down to rest a few moments. Sometimes I found the cooks hiding behind the serving canteen to eat because they couldn’t get any peace,” said Hosanna.
The people who worked with Hosanna in the kitchen were missionaries from different parts of the world who lived in Turkiye, Turkish Christians, Turkish people from the neighborhoods near the camp and volunteers from all over the world.
“We were all united in our goal to serve the people there. We slept side by side in tents and together dealt with the primitive facilities while coping with the elements of the weather each day,” said Hosanna.
“The only times we were not busy during our stay there was when we had a full day off. It was on a Wednesday, so we first went to climb a mountain that was two miles behind our relief camp. It was steep and rocky and there were only a few trees growing on it, mostly shrubs. It was the mountain where the first Christian church was started with caves in it where the early Christians would have hidden. We crawled through a few of them to see what they were like. Antakya is the Bible-times’ Antioch, so it’s interesting to read the book of Acts (in the Bible) and see the name of the city that was our home for three weeks,” shared Hosanna.
After seeing the St. Peter’s Church that was on the mountain, the group climbed to a high point and looked out over the city. The team then descended and found a Kebab shop to eat lunch at.
“Kebabs was my favorite Turkish food,” said Hosanna.
Hosanna’s team and another team of volunteers from the camp went to explore the “Chasm” — a 100-foot deep and 300-foot long chasm that was caused by the earthquake. It was in the middle of an olive orchard and the ground looked as if it had been put into a blender and churned. Most of the boulders were made of clay-like dirt that could easily be broken apart. The group was also able to attend a church worship service before heading back to the camp and back to work.
Three months after the earthquake, the Turkish people are just now beginning to create a new “normal” for their lives. Hosanna, now back in Bellefonte and enjoying the comforts of her home, looks back on her trip to Turkiye as an unforgettable adventure.
“My trip to Turkiye was very exciting and fulfilling. I had specifically wanted to go on the trip to give myself some experience for the future. I am starting college at Lock Haven University in August, majoring in Pre-Med studies. I hope to become a rural doctor, and to eventually go overseas as a missionary doctor. This trip helped me see what it really will be like,” Hosanna shared.
“I made friends over there that I still keep in contact with, and I can keep in touch with the improving conditions in Antakya even though I’m back here in Bellefonte. I hope to return at some point, but for this summer, I am focusing on preparing for college. I continue to pray for my friends and the teams of volunteers as they carry on the work in Antakya. I also pray for Turkiye as a country and the people living there, as they rebuild and recover from this catastrophe,” said Hosanna.