“I explained to my 4-year-old daughter that people were in a very difficult situation and that I had to go and help. After that day, whenever I wore my uniform, she would start clapping.”
Abdurrahman Kurt has worked for the National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) of the Turkish Ministry of Health for nearly 17 years, taking part in many national and international emergencies, including during Türkiye’s 2023 earthquakes. Much of his work has focused on maintaining health services in disaster-affected areas and supporting vulnerable groups.
To provide children with a simpler, gentler way of understanding disasters, he has created a comic-style colouring book featuring heroes based on his team. Rather than focusing on fear, he introduces children to teamwork, solidarity and resilience through simple stories, inspiring characters and creative activities. He explains where his inspiration came from.
“My daughter would ask endless questions: ‘What did you do today? How many people did you rescue? What were the children there like?’ Watching disaster response on television, she tried to understand what I and others were doing in the field.”
“The hero was already there,” he smiles. “In my daughter's eyes, the people helping others and giving hope were heroes.”
“When I grow up, I will help people. too”
When we think of earthquakes, the first things that often come to mind are collapsed buildings, emergency medical care, temporary shelters and the distribution of food and water. Yet the effects of disasters extend beyond physical damage, especially for children, for whom the effects on mental health and well-being can last long after the emergency has ended.
After the devastating earthquakes that struck south-eastern Türkiye on 6 February 2023, affecting 11 provinces and millions of people, the Turkish Ministry of Health rapidly mobilized emergency health services. Health responders such as UMKE worked to sustain essential services. Attention also turned to supporting the emotional well-being of children and families
as they tried to regain a sense of safety, routine and normal life.
Kurt’s colouring book has been used during UMKE field activities, as well as in schools, kindergartens and during first-grade disaster preparedness sessions. Children responded with curiosity and enthusiasm. While colouring, they asked questions about the characters and created their own stories.
One moment stayed with Kurt especially strongly: “A child showed me the character they had coloured and said, ‘When I grow up, I will help people, too.’”
Solidarity and safety
The content of the colouring book was carefully designed for children, avoiding images or messages that could heighten fear or anxiety. The characters were created to feel approachable, kind and reassuring, allowing children to see themselves in the stories.
For Kurt, it was also important that the book included female heroes and different role models.
Women play an essential role in disaster management and emergency response and the book reflects this by presenting both women and men as strong, caring and capable figures. In this way, children can encounter heroes who feel close and familiar to them, and see that helping others, showing courage and taking part in emergency response are roles open to everyone.
The aim of the book was simple but powerful: to help children feel that they are not alone. “I wanted to support feelings of solidarity, hope, helping others and safety,” Kurt says. “I also wanted children to understand that the teams working in disasters are there with them.”
Improving communication
The book became a bridge for communication. Children who were quiet or withdrawn would sometimes open up during colouring activities, expressing themselves more easily through drawings and stories. Teachers also shared that the book was a useful tool for connecting with children.
Small actions can have a deep impact on the aftermath of a disaster. Playing games, drawing, reading stories and spending time with trusted adults can all help children feel safer and more grounded. A colouring book cannot remove the hardship of a crisis, but it can offer a child a moment of comfort, expression and hope.
“Children need more than physical support,” Kurt says. “They need to feel safe, to express themselves and to return to the ordinary flow of daily life.”
The story of the UMKE comic/colouring book shows what a people-centred approach can look like in practice. Beyond systems, standards and response structures, it is a reminder that preparedness, response and recovery are also about trust, communication and human connection, especially for children and other vulnerable groups.
Abdurrahman’s daughter colours the book.
Moving forward
The WHO Country Office in Türkiye supports the country’s Ministry of Health to strengthen its mental health system through the nationally-led and European Union-supported Social Inclusion of Persons with Mental Disabilities Project, including policy alignment under the National Mental Health Action Plan 2026–2030.
This support includes the adaptation, training and field implementation of evidence-based WHO packages for children and adolescents, particularly in earthquake-affected areas. Through pilots, supervision, local delivery and service quality efforts, WHO contributes to more accessible, community-based and person-centred mental health and psychosocial support.
On 2 July 2026, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge and Minister of Health of Türkiye Professor Dr Kemal Memişoğlu signed the Istanbul Outcome Statement 2026 following the WHO Ministerial Conference on advancing health security through earthquake emergency management. The statement calls on countries and partners to turn lessons into readiness that people can count on: knowing the risks before earthquakes strike; preparing hospitals and clinics to keep essential services running; training and supporting emergency teams; and strengthening cooperation across sectors and borders so that care reaches people quickly and fairly.
As countries across the WHO European Region work to strengthen earthquake preparedness and emergency management, the experience from Türkiye highlights an important lesson: effective emergency response is not only measured by the lives saved in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, but also by how communities are supported in the long recovery that follows.
Sometimes resilience begins with the smallest things: a pencil, a story, a trusted adult nearby and a child who begins to smile again.