How did the cooperation come into being?
Serkan Eren: “We learned through our network that Galatasaray is looking for a humanitarian aid organization with which they can cooperate in long-term earthquake relief. This is because Galatasaray would like to help the victims in the earthquake areas even after the acute emergency aid, but they lack the professional expertise in humanitarian work. We as STELP were looking for a strong local partner, because of course, even as an NGO, you can’t just build a container village on Turkish soil. You need some permits and at best contact persons at the cities or in politics. That’s when we realized pretty quickly that as a small NGO from Germany, we could benefit from Galatasaray’s good contacts.”
How Galatasaray became aware of STELP
Serkan Eren: “Since we knew that Galatasaray was looking for us, we applied to them. The first contact was made quite quickly via a long-time STELP supporter. We made countless calls and discussed the contents of the contract and our joint project. Now we are happy that together with Galatasaray we are building housing projects for affected families in Hatay and we can support with equipment, psychological support and school projects”.
