Turkish students go to Somalia to renovate school

200 Turkish students visit several African countries as part of exchange program

By Zuhal Demirci

ANKARA -A group of Turkish students participated in renovation works at an orphanage-cum-school in Somalia on Sunday, as part of a visit to several African countries under an exchange program.

The 2017 Africa Experience Sharing Program provides an opportunity to 200 students to visit several African countries, including Tunisia, Libya, Somalia, Kenya, Algeria, Chad, Sudan, Ghana and Niger from Aug. 5-30.

The program is organized by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in cooperation with Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Agency and state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television (TRT).

The students participate in social, cultural and humanitarian activities and renovate schools, orphanages, libraries and places of worship as predetermined by TIKA and local NGOs in the visiting countries.

They also take part in the implementation of local developmental projects.

As part of the program, seven students arrived in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu and visited the Turkish Embassy, the Turkish military training base, a civil aviation school, and the offices of Turkish Airlines, TIKA and the Turkish Maarif Foundation.

The volunteer students from different universities in Turkey also participated in repair works of the Al Haramain orphanage in the capital Mogadishu. The orphanage will also serve as a school for 800 Somalian children.

Usame Targal, a second-year law student from Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, told Anadolu Agency that they had painted 200 benches and tables in the school.

“We have learned a new culture and customs through this exchange program […] We have established a bridge between the two continents,” he said.