The 1999 earthquakes
that occurred in the Marmara region have stimulated
social awareness and thus interest in disaster
management which has increased with unprecedented
intensity, especially in the area of disaster preparedness.
All would readily admit, however, that what has
been done so far remains inadequate against the
immensity of disaster risks in Turkey.
The Neighborhood Disaster Volunteer System which
is an initiative launched in the year 2000, as
a project (NDSP- Neighborhood Disaster Support
Project)
has continued successfully to this day by benefiting
from a stable supply of resources provided by the
Swiss Government. Given sufficient support and
appropriate arrangements, the Project was able
to broaden and
extend its functions and prove to be the most useful
application to date in the area of disaster preparedness.

Neighborhood Disaster Foundation is established
by a group of initiators from universities, business
world, NGOs, media, and official institutions
with the need for the existence of a national
level organization
to provide support for sustaining the NDV system,
while improving its quality and for strengthening
the volunteer base, directly or through other
NGOs.
MAG Foundation aims to lead and support voluntary
groups and organizations in matters of setting,
implementing, and developing standards in the
areas of training,
equipment, and organization, in order to allow
the Neighborhood Disaster Volunteers, to carry
out effectively
their assumed functions in disaster prevention
and preparedness; to raise any and all support
from all
possible sources and transferring the same
to volunteer groups, as they need them, especially
in financial
and technical matters, in order to permit the
Neighborhood Disaster Volunteers, to fulfill
the important responsibilities
that they have undertaken in the disaster management
system.
To assure the participation of broad segments
of society as a strong support and driving
force, alongside the public organizations,
in the struggle
for preventing
disasters from causing social and economic
devastation; and, for this purpose, working
toward arrangements
and improvements needed in the disaster management
system.
To develop a platform of broad-based participation,
in order to develop cooperation at national
and international levels in matters of disaster
preparedness
and disaster
damage reduction, to assure exchange of information
between relevant persons, institutions, and
organizations, and to create a medium of
joint work.
 
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