25/11/2019
Turkey
participants
Everything has started one and a half months ago. A village school in Şanlıurfa, 20 km to Syrian borders, was lacking the basic needs of a school, and the conditions were terrible for students. Even though we were hundreds of kilometers away, something had to be done. Whatever we could have done as ESN Trabzon would not be enough to supply the needs of the school. At this point, we decided to cooperate with UİK (International Relations Student Club) which is also located in the same university (Karadeniz Technical University). Thus, we could have reached a wider range of people to get them to the charity organisation.
We had to find the most efficient and most exciting event to attract the students. Since it was exactly a month ago, the best option was to organise a Halloween Party. Thanks to the devoted cooperation of two associations, the expected profit was provided. According to the list of the needs provided from the school managers, the priorities were selected. We decided to open the pre-school classroom which was previously out of use, therefore to provide heaters, materials, wall-to-wall carpets, and paintings on the walls to create a lively environment. Providing dashboards and heaters for primary and middle school classrooms, and building a sport field in order to encourage kids to do sports were also among our goals. After supplying all the needs one by one, it was the time to get on the road and start the renovation in the school. Thereby, the Şanlıurfa part of our project which is named as “We Are Here for Future” had started.
During the a few days we spent in Şanlıurfa, we had the chance to spend time with kids in the village, renovate the school, and travel around the city. And now, we are feeling very happy to know that we have achieved all our goals, and that we have converted the school into a suitable place for education. The smiles of the kids and the teachers will last forever in our minds. We have reminded the kids that they are only children and have done our best to make them love the school. We have put our signature under a beginning by preparing the school for the kids. Our project has not ended yet, it was not only about renovating the school. We aimed not only to build a school, but also a future. We have started a sparkle, new generations will come back as flames.
