Safeguarding the city

GEA has been responding to disasters since 1994 – in its native Turkey and around the world. Since then, the volunteer organization has conducted over 60 Search & Rescue (SAR) missions and other humanitarian interventions in the aftermath of earthquakes, explosions, floods and landslides.  

GEA has been a member of the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) since 1999, and was awarded ‘Light SAR Team’ status in 2022. 

In 2025, the JTI Foundation celebrated 20-years of partnership with GEA. Throughout this time, operational capacity at GEA has steadily increased, improving GEA’s ability to deploy its volunteer SAR teams in response to disasters around the world. 

The JTI Foundation’s support allows GEA’s capacity to develop in three key areas. 

First, the JTI Foundation’s backing has allowed GEA to develop capacity internally. As a result, it can tackle a greater range of deployments in response to differing types of disaster. The establishment of an agile GEA Assessment Team will be of particular importance – enabling more effective early interventions in collaboration with peer organizations. 

Second, this internal strengthening is matched by drawing on external relationships and resources – building capacity and expertise through collaboration with NGO peers and international institutions. This sharing of best practice with the global SAR community applies to GEA’s training exercises, and is amplified through cooperation on live missions.  

Finally, JTI Foundation support will facilitate the establishment of earthquake preparedness and emergency stations in Istanbul, which remains vulnerable to a potentially devastating quake in the near future. 

GEA estimates that around 125,000 individuals will benefit directly from its increased institutional capacity built up across the current two-year phase of the partnership.