Tree Planting Event was held in Hatay within the scope of Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects, which are carried out by the General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate with the European Union Financial Support through German Development Bank (KfW) and The World Bank.
Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Nikolaus Meyer Landrut, General Director of Construction and Real Estate of Ministry of National Education Umut GÜR, Governor of Hatay Rahmi DOĞAN, District Governor of İskenderun İskender YÖNDEN, Mayor of İskenderun Fatih TOSYALI, Project Impelentation Unit, and teachers and the students of Oruç Reis Primary School where the event held, attended the event.
In his speech, Umut Gür, General Director of Construction and Real Estate of the Ministry of National Education, said, “As the Project Implementation Unit of the General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate of the Ministry of National Education , we are in a completely different excitement in your presence today. Within the scope of the financial support of the European Union, we have built and opened 126 schools since 2017 with Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects,. The Oruç Reis School, which we are in today, is one of them and it is the new educational home of our children who are with us today. Under this roof, our children, both Turkish and Syrian, with an independent mind, independent conscience, will grow up. They will flourish and grow up together with laboratories, sports fields, libraries and social facilities in these qualified educational environments. We hope that each of the educational investments that we carefully consider for all our children will be a gift to all our children, who are unique just like the saplings we will plant today.”
Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Nikolaus Meyer Landrut in speech, “Education is key to the future for all children, either Turkish or refugee, or European. I am very happy and proud that the European Union, the Turkish state, local authorities and the Turkish people are carrying out this magnificent educational work. As the European Union, we support the construction of 410 schools across the country and nearly 40 schools in this province. Of course, this was also thanks to the outstanding efforts of our devoted teachers, and especially of our teachers in the PIKTES program. Therefore, the main reason why I am very pleased to be here is this effort of teachers and the education. We’re also here today for a tree planting ceremony. Environment and climate problem is the biggest problem of our time. We can deal with this problem with the measures we will take daily.” said.
In his speech, Hatay Governor Rahmi Doğan said, “The buildings that I enjoy opening most are school openings. I felt a very serious relief when I entered the school, and I hope our students will receive a good education. Honorable Ambassador visited me yesterday. We had a long consultation on the agenda in our country, province and Syria. There is a Syrian crisis that started in 2011, one of the biggest crises in the world. The war was not only a civil war, but also a huge wave of immigration. Millions of people have been forced to leave their homes. Due to the borders with Turkey in the first place, they tried to go to Europe via Turkey and other countries. This was a very painful drama. Many families passed away in the cold waters of the Aegean sea like Aylan baby.
With so many Syrian guests coming to our country, it turned out that our opportunities are not sufficient and incomplete. Because while we were planning our cities, education and health, we planned them according to our population and our settled structure. When nearly half of the population in some districts, or even more than the entire population in Reyhanlı district, our educational institutions were not enough and our hospitals started to respond to the need. We use roads, parks, hospitals and schools together, but it must be understood that they have a capacity in them.
21-22 new schools have been planned for our city, some of them have been built, some are still under construction and some are in the planning phase. These schools will provide serious support to our education in our city. I express my gratitude to the European Union countries in the person of the Ambassador. Is it enough? Of course not, I think the European Union should take on this burden more. Ultimately, this issue is not only Turkey’s problem. Turkey is the country most affected by this problem and most tired. We have to face it together, we have to do it for humanity. We must act together, join forces and carry this burden together.
Again, I hope the event will be beneficial and I express my gratitude for your appreciation. I would like to thank all my friends who have contributed, and greet everyone with respect.”
The protocol made observations at the school after the speeches. After the observations, saplings were planted in the school garden, representing the 3,000 saplings that were planted in the area damaged by the fire last year, during the sapling planting event organized with the theme “Our Future is Greening”.
The event ended after photo shoots and consultations.
