80 Projects 80 Thousand Children

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), which is Turkey’s most important foreign aid organization, put a smile on the faces of child victims in need in 5 continents. TİKA, which implemented 80 projects exclusively for children in 2018, put a smile on the faces of 80 thousand children.

TİKA, which implemented 80 projects exclusively for children in 2018, put a smile on the faces of 80 thousand children. This year, it has implemented 20 projects so far. As the Deputy President of TİKA, which helps tens of thousands of children throughout the world every year, Serkan Kayalar said: “We will try to extend the helping hand of Turkey to as many children as we can, regardless of their race, language or religion.”

Wars, migrations, natural disasters, and poverty affect children the most. There are more than 400 million orphans in the world. Turkey is one of the most important countries to shoulder responsibility in foreign assistance. As Turkey’s most important foreign aid organization, TİKA also carries out special projects for children all around the world, especially to educate them and raise younger generations better. TİKA implements projects to support disadvantaged children and provide all children from Central Asia to Balkans, from the Middle East to Africa, from the Far East to Latin America with equal, comprehensive and sustainable education opportunities.

TİKA, which implemented more than 20 projects for children in the first half of 2019 in the fields of education, culture, and health, continues to put a smile on the faces of children in 5 continents. Thousands of children benefited from these projects.

As President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and First Lady Emine Erdoğan are sensitive to this issue, aid projects for children increase day by day.

Helping hand in 5 continents

TİKA Deputy President Serkan Kayalar made the following remarks on their aid projects for children in need throughout the world: “As a result of incidents such as wars, conflicts, hunger, migration, and natural disasters, we witness increasing suffering in the world. Certainly, children and women suffer the most from these incidents. Today, there are more than 400 million orphans in the world, and in Turkey, mainly TİKA and NGOs are making an outstanding effort to relieve these children’s distress. In this sense, projects about maternal and child health are among the primary goals of TİKA. Niger-Turkey Friendship Hospital will be the most important center for maternal and child health not only in Niger but also in the region. In many regions of the world including Balkans, Central Asia, and Africa, we are renovating children’s clinics as well as building new schools and renovating hundreds of existing schools to meet basic educational needs of children in modern conditions starting from nurseries. We are carrying out sustainable projects as well as providing humanitarian assistance to children who are the victims of wars or terrorism in countries such as Myanmar (Rakhine), Palestine, Afghanistan, Somali, and Iraq. Of all the projects of TİKA, which span across 5 continents, those for children definitely have a unique place. These works of TİKA are undoubtedly a reflection of the conscience of Turkish people under the leadership of our President. First Lady Emine Erdoğan is the pioneer of very important projects on maternal and child health both in Turkey and abroad. We have recently inaugurated a center serving disabled children in Tajikistan in the care of First Lady Emine Erdoğan. In Ramadan, in the care of First Lady Emine Erdoğan, we hosted a group of Ghanaian hearing-impaired children who receive education in Turkey with the support of TİKA. Of all our projects, the works that affect us the most in the field and increase our ambition as TİKA members are those carried out for children. We will try to extend the helping hand of Turkey to as many children as we can, regardless of their race, language or religion.”

TİKA’s aid projects by country

TİKA’s helping hand reaches tens of thousands of children every year. Some of TİKA’s aid projects are listed by country as follows:

– Kyrgyzstan: The first education and art center for visually or hearing impaired children was built in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

In the Kok-Jar neighbourhood of the Oktyabr district in Bishkek, the rooms used as a library in the Headquarters of National Sight and Hearing Association, which is in service next to Council Houses where 135 families with visual or hearing impairment reside, were repaired and equipped. Within the scope of the project, a children’s education and art center for impaired children was built after the repair of the headquarters.

In Chuy Region of Kyrgyzstan, Budenovka Secondary School, where nearly 750 students from 17 different nations receive education, was renovated and put into service by TİKA.

– Ghana: Eight hearing impaired children, who receive education in Tetteh-Ocloo State School for the Deaf in Akra, the capital of Ghana, were given a three-week-long training in jewellery, crafts and ready-to-wear industry in Kemal Yurtbilir Private Vocational High School in Ankara. In 2016, TİKA provided hearing aids for 80 hearing impaired children between the ages of 4 and 12 who receive education in Tetteh-Ocloo State School for the Deaf and installed an FM education system at the school to enable children to receive auditory education in addition to education in sign language.

– Mongolia: The teaching materials and equipment, which are necessary for the teaching activities of Mongolia Children’s Creativity Center, were provided by TİKA.

– Serbia: TİKA renovated Misa Cvijanovic – Nasa Radost Kindergarten and Dusan Tomasevic Cirko Elementary School in Prijepolje, which is located in the south-west of Serbia. There are 300 students in the kindergarten and 210 students in the elementary school.

– Ethiopia: In Ramadan, TİKA set up an iftar table for 800 orphans in Ethiopia.

– Algeria: TİKA held an international symposium in El Oued, Algeria about what needs to be done for the treatment and education of children with cerebral palsy and distributed 50 wheelchairs specially designed for children to families.

– Montenegro: TİKA renovated the gymnasium of the Tuzi May 25th High School in Podgoritsa, the capital of Montenegro.

– Azerbaijan: On the occasion of 23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day, 30 thousand books were distributed to Azerbaijani students as part of “May Your Book Be Your Light” (Kitabın Işığın Olsun) project, which was implemented by TİKA to bring children’s book authors from Azerbaijan and Turkey and Azerbaijani children together in different cultural activities and encourage children to develop better reading habits.

– Afghanistan: Bahter High School, which is one of the biggest and longest-established high school in Mazar-i-Sharif, was renovated by TİKA. The wings of the high school, where more than 7 thousand students receive education, were inaugurated. There are 8 classrooms in each of these wings.

– Montenegro: Rojaye September 30th Science High School located in Rojaye was renovated by TİKA to provide students with more effective and interactive education.

Smart boards and computers were set up in 8 classrooms of this school, where 470 students receive education.

– Uruguay: School buses were provided for Escuela Roosevelt School for Impaired in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The school serves 82 students with severe impairments between the ages of 2 and 18.

– Guinea: TİKA put an end to the 15 years of longing for water of disabled individuals and orphans residing in Guinea Solidarity Neighbourhood. Building a clean water system with a water capacity of 12 tons in the Solidarity Neighbourhood, TİKA became the lifeline support of disabled individuals and orphans. As a part of Ramadan events, 500 disabled or orphan families residing in this neighbourhood were provided with food aid.

– Pakistan: In Karachi, the most populous city of Pakistan, an iftar program was organized for 1000 people consisting of impoverished madrasah students and their families in cooperation with Baitus Salam Foundation. Moreover, 250 families of orphans in Pakistan were provided with food aid.

– Lebanon: An iftar dinner was held for more than 350 orphans in need of care in the orphanage in Halba town of Akkar, which is located in the north of Lebanon.

– Libya: Libyan orphans and university students from Africa, Central Asia, Balkans, and the Far East came together in the program called “TİKA Iftar Tables with Children”.