On Sept 28, 2023, the Ikogretim Elementary School in Antakya Hatay received two new classrooms, much needed by the families that were affected by the devastating earthquake of last year. The Education Director, Mr. Mehmet Ali Arslan, the School Principal, Mrs. Tugce Akduman as well as the excited children were all there at the ceremony to hand over the addition. Mr. Binod Paudel, Director of the Family Federation for World Peace Turkey was there to represent the donors. The Area Education director gives his special appreciation to the Family Federation for World Peace Türkiye and Youth and Student for Peace who jointly coordinated the project. Currently, 45 students are happily attending classes in the classrooms.
On 6th February 2023 at 4 am the southeast part of Türkiye was devastated by a massive earthquake. According to government official statistics, more than 50 thousand people lost their lives. Thousands of houses are still collapsing. The Ikogretim Elementary School is in the middle of a village near the destroyed area. Many families relocated to this village expanding its population greatly. Because of the increase of children and the inadequate facilities of the village, the children couldn’t continue their education.
When the first relief team from FFWPU Türkiye was mobilized to provide support to the people in that area local people requested support for the school. It took more than 6 months to get approval from the authority. There was pressure to complete the project on time because the school year was to start soon. With active support from locals and volunteers’ hard work, we completed this project. On 28th September FFWPU National Leader, Mr. Binod Paudel, officially handed over the project.
The education director mentioned several times that this is the best project in Antakya. Thanks for all your support and great contribution to this project. The education department will provide other necessary materials for the classroom. At the end of this project, we will have a fully air-conditioned classroom where children can come and study in a safe environment.
This is just the beginning. We plan to continue to support this school and develop the FFWPU and YSP Model projects so that other NGOs and governmental organizations can come and learn. That is why we want to collaborate with YSP EUME to build a successful project. Future we want to support drinking water projects, wall painting, drawing, and gardening projects as a part of the beautification.
I would like to give special thanks to Dr. Micheal Balcomb, FFWPU-EUME President, for taking the initiative to raise funds for this project, One World Peace Association, and at the same time to thank the support received from members around the world. Because of your contributions, our children’s dreams come true, and they are in a safe classroom to find a bright future. Local coordinator Mr. Ibrahim Yalcin, Ms. Hatice Kubra, and Project Coordinator Mr. Sezai Hakki Aydin all worked very hard to succeed in this project.
Written by
FFWPU Türkiye
13 October 2023
