AI program reunites 1,800 quake-hit children with families

Bülent Sarıoğlu - ISTANBUL

An artificial intelligence program called DerinGÖRÜ, created by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK), have enabled a total of 1,865 children who had been separated from their families following the devastating quakes on Feb. 6 to reunite with their families.

İbrahim Kürşat Ergüt, the head of the Department of Orphan Services of the Family and Social Services Ministry, informed the Parliamentary Sub-Commission on Children's Rights about the program implemented for the first time and announced that 1,914 children whose families or relatives were unknown after the major disaster were followed up.

Stating that DerinGÖRÜ greatly helped the department during this process, Ergüt added that they were the first users of the program, which “strengthened [their] hand in quickly comparing the pictures and information about the children, reaching conclusions and providing information to the other parties.”

"A significant increase has been achieved in foster family and adoption applications. While the adoption applications were about 560, there are more than 70,000 adoption applications as of today. The number of foster family applications increased from 669 before the earthquakes to more than 330,000 today. Of course, these numbers increased drastically due to the emotional state of people during the earthquakes."

"But after the ‘heroic’ phase, these numbers gradually decreased. We have invited around 278,000 people who meet the appropriate conditions to the preliminary interview. A little more than 84,000 of them have come to the interviews. Currently, 4,329 families have applied to become official foster families," Ergüt stressed.