The North Macedonia Part of the Experience Sharing Program Completed

12 volunteer medicine students from different universities in Türkiye visited North Macedonia under the Experience Sharing Program 2022 (ESP 2022), organized by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), and took part in TİKA’s projects in different parts of the country.

The volunteer students who visited North Macedonia under the ESP 2022, supported by TİKA, had the chance to closely observe Türkiye’s activities in the country. On the first day of the program, the students visited farmers in Konče, a Turkish village, in order to examine the “Project for Support for Strawberry Farming,” supported by TİKA.

After harvesting the first fruits of the project, our volunteer students performed health screenings in Konče in the mobile health vehicle provided by TİKA in 2021 as part of the project “Mobile Clinic Health Screening,” which was implemented by TİKA in cooperation with the Institute of Lung Disease and Tuberculosis, affiliated with the Ministry of Health of North Macedonia.

The volunteers painted a village school

Our volunteer students took part in the interior painting and whitewashing activities at a village school, which was built and equipped by TİKA and is located in Yüksek Mahalle, a Yörük village in Vasilevo, where Turkish people make up nearly 20 percent of the population.

Our team observed TİKA’s health projects and activities on site, visited the Neonatal/Pediatrics Intensive Care and Emergency Clinic of Skopje, the Institute of Lung Disease and Tuberculosis, and the Endocrinology Department of City General Hospital “8^th September,” and received information from their colleagues about the projects and medical units.

Volunteers visited historical and cultural sites

In the last part of the program, the students had the chance to learn about Türkiye’s historical and cultural cooperation initiatives for North Macedonia. They visited Turkish-Islamic monuments in Skopje, such as Mustafa Pasha Mosque and Sultan Murad Mosque, as well as the Arabati Baba Tekḱe and Šarena Mosque in Tetovo, Halveti Hayati Tekḱe in Ohrid, and the Ataturk Memorial Room at the Monastir Military High School, which was renovated by TİKA.

The “Experience Sharing Program 2022,” coordinated by TİKA, is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Türkiye, Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Agency, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, and Türkiye Youth Foundation.