A Health Center by TİKA to Earthquake Victims in Mexica

A groundbreaking ceremony was organized for the health center that will be built by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) in the town of El Espinal in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

The health center that will be opened in the town of El Espinal in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, which was severely affected by the earthquake that took place in 2017, will be the only center for health services in the town with a population of 15,000 residents. Planned with a capacity to serve 300 people per day, the center will feature examination, treatment and dentistry units as well as a training hall where public education programs will be organized to inform people in relation to preventive healthcare. TİKA will also provide the equipment for the Health Center.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by the Governor of Oaxaca Alejandro Ismael Murat Hinojosa, TİKA Vice President Prof. Dr. Birol Çetin, Mayor of El Espinal Raul Edgardo Benitez Mesa as well as the citizens.

Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Alejandro Ismael Murat Hinojosa thanked Turkey for the health center and stressed that friendships between countries are established not by building walls but by building bridges, as is the case in here.

“Mexico is well-known and dearly loved in Turkey”

TİKA Vice President Prof. Dr. Birol Çetin also stated that the injustice around the world can only be overcome by sharing the problems. He pointed out that Turkey has become the most generous country in the world but they also expect to see other developed countries working side by side with Turkey. Çetin expressed that Mexico is well-known and dearly loved in Turkey and discussed the sympathy and warmth towards the Mexicans from Turkish people.

In his speech, El Espinal Mayor Raul Edgardo Benitez Mesa thanked Turkey for all the support and post-disaster assistance it has provided since the earthquake in last September, and emphasized that this project also means a declaration of brotherhood between the two nations.

After the speeches, the memorandum of understanding between Mexico and Turkey was signed by the Governor Alejandro Ismael Murat Hinojosa and TİKA Vice President Prof. Dr. Birol Çetin and the groundbreaking ceremony commenced.

People of El Espinal expressed their gratitude to Turkey for all the help and one of the citizens, a retired nurse named Rosario said that she is a big fan of Turkey and she is very thankful for this show of brotherhood by the Turkish people and she definitely wants to visit Turkey one day.

The earthquakes that caused massive destruction in the State of Oaxaca occurred on September 19, 2017, and February 16, 2018. The earthquakes that led to over 370 lost lives and large-scale material damages across Mexico also forced 150 families out of their homes in the town of El Espinal alone. TİKA had already provided a water ambulance and an all-terrain ambulance to help overcome the damages caused by the earthquake and distributed humanitarian assistance packages in the State of Oaxaca. Furthermore, in the Santa Lucia del Camino region, damaged schools had been supplied with furniture and equipment.

In the letter he sent to TİKA, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto had thanked Turkey for the assistance provided to their country, which had been struck by earthquakes, and remarked that this was an instance of great generosity the Mexicans would never forget.