Emine Erdoğan Inaugurates TİKA Project in Bosnia Herzegovina

Emine Erdoğan, the wife of the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, inaugurated Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) Sarajevo Mjedenica Special Education School.

First Lady Emine Erdoğan, who accompanied President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, inaugurated TİKA Sarajevo Mjedenica Special Education School for individuals with psycho-physical deficiencies.

Vildana Dzaferovic, the wife of Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidential Council Member Sefik Dzaferovic, Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Minister of Education and Science Elvira Dilberovic and TİKA Deputy President Serkan Kayalar accompanied Emine Erdoğan in the inauguration.

In her speech, Emine Erdoğan expressed how happy she was to be in Sarajevo and made the following remarks: “The strong ties between us give us the desire to share what we have. Experience sharing program in special education is the product of this strong desire. I believe we will develop this friendship further with mutual benefits. TİKA, Turkey’s friendly hand, shares the innovations in special education applications with friendly and sibling countries in Balkans in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education.” 

Emphasizing that several projects are carried out with high awareness for individuals with special needs in Turkey, Emine Erdoğan said: “We believe that this is both their most basic human right and necessary for equality of opportunity. To become a strong nation, all individuals in a society must feel strong. Therefore, we are looking for ways to incorporate our special individuals into social life. We are creating new areas of employment for them. We believe that education is the most permanent investment. In this sense, we try to carry these experiences to all friendly countries from Africa to Balkans.” 

Reminding that TİKA repaired and equipped 16 workshops and classrooms in 8 special education schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Emine Erdoğan said: “Thus, if we can improve our children in many ways, we can overcome obstacles. Our souls, hearts, and consciences are what make us human. No obstacle can destroy this multi-directional potential within a person. We just need to break the chains and remove the obstacles in our minds.”

TİKA Deputy President Serkan Kayalar made the following remarks: “As a reflection of its initiatives in every field in Turkey in the care of our President, TİKA implemented nearly 900 projects in Bosnia-Herzegovina in many different fields such as education, culture, health, agriculture, livestock breeding, and restoration. Moreover, as TİKA, we implemented similar projects in many regions of the world in the care of First Lady Emine Erdoğan. In addition to the training sessions held within the scope of the project, a total of 16 workshops/special education classrooms in 8 special schools in different cities were repaired and equipped.”

After the inauguration, First Lady Emine Erdoğan and Vildana Dzaferovic, the wife of Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidential Council Member Sefik Dzaferovic, came together with the students who receive education in the workshop renovated by TİKA.