Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

Checking residents’ health at affected villages:

AMDA’s relief team (comprising two nurses and one local supporter) visited villages on the outskirts of Adiyamant, accompanying a local Turkish doctor on his routine rounds.

In Tekpinar and mountainous Başpınar which the team visited on 26 and 27 February respectively, many of the buildings were severely destroyed.

The team went around houses and evacuation tents to check the health condition of the villagers. While checking their saturation and blood pressure levels, the Turkish doctor saw patients who complained of ill-health, and prescribed medicine as needed. During the two-day stint, the team saw about 40 patients in total.
 

Recreational activities for children:

On 26 February, the team was joined by a sports instructor and a child-minder who came to offer help as volunteers. Alongside the aforementioned health check, recreational activities such as physical exercises and painting were organized for children at the Tekpinar village. For the latter, the children painted whatever they liked on a big brown sheet of paper using the palms of their hands. While some used their fingertips or tree branches to draw lines and shapes, some enjoyed leaving handprints on the paper. They seemed to have been having a lot of fun, with some of them crying out with joy.

    

A Japanese doctor arrives in Türkiye:

Meanwhile, the AMDA doctor that left Japan on 27 February arrived in Türkiye on the morning of the 28th, the following day. Immediately after his arrival, the doctor moved to the village of Gökçay with the proceeding team. At the village where Turkish medical staff had been paying a visit on a regular basis, the team donated relief supplies such as shampoo, soap, and insulation underwear. The village (whose population was approximately 300) was not easy to access, as it was located at the altitude of 1,100 meters. The snow still remained in the area as well.

Among the patients the team saw was a two-month-old baby, whose mother dropped by to ask for assistance. According to the mother, the infant could not stop coughing even after going to a hospital. After seeing the baby and hearing the details about the symptoms, the AMDA doctor relieved the mother by explaining that there was nothing to worry about, and that it was okay for her to observe the baby for the time being.
 
Another notable case was a pregnant woman who was suffering from gestational hypertension. The woman had already been taking antihypertension drugs. She told the team that her blood pressure levels surged after learning that her baby was not growing steadily. After checking her pressure levels once again, the team discovered that her previous readings were simply not precise. Telling her that “the levels were completely normal” finally put her at ease.

Other than noted, the team also answered questions from the villagers regarding quake-related countermeasures in Japan. Likewise, they also instructed the village children on how to respond to sudden tremors through gestures and play activities.

The team left the following comment in their daily activity report: “While we were there, local people thanked us so much for coming all the way from Japan to provide help. They even treated us with a cup of tea and snacks despite facing difficult circumstances. This really warmed our hearts.”