Joy about learning packages

Hygiene kits and learning materials help schoolchildren in Turkey to safely survive the Corona crisis. On behalf of the German Federal Government KfW is financing around 150,000 sets of aid material, which the children's relief organisation UNICEF is now distributing.

"I miss my teachers and classmates, I even miss my school uniform," says eleven-year-old Fatma from Istanbul. She and her little brother Muhamet, eight years old, received a homeschooling set from UNICEF. Before the Corona crisis, Fatma had never missed a single day of school, so her friends were already teasing her that she should move in right away. Now, thanks to the homeschooling set, she can also study at home. The set contains books and pens, but also games and learning aids. Fatma is especially happy about the books with the children's stories. Then she helps her mother to open the package with the hygiene products. Besides disinfectant spray and masks, soap is also included. "But it smells good", says Fatma delightedly.

The learning set was developed by the Turkish Ministry of Education. The UNICEF action is a great help especially for the children who fled Syria and for particularly poor Turkish families. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) KfW has financed the procurement of 150,000 sets for home schooling and hygiene needs, which are currently being delivered by the UN Children's Fund UNICEF and other established humanitarian organisations. The EUR 2.5 million spent for this purpose comes from a programme to support Syrian teachers in Turkey as part of the BMZ's Middle East Employment Offensive and has been reallocated to Corona Aid.

More than one million children from Syria live as refugees in Turkey, about 600,000 of them also attend school there. They not only have to learn Turkish, but also find their way around a foreign school system. Syrian teachers, who teach in schools in Turkey as volunteers, help them to do so. The UNICEF project financed by KfW supports 12,000 Syrian teachers and around 300,000 pupils in Turkey. The reallocated funds are now helping poor children in particular to get through the Corona crisis.

Zeynep, a youth social worker from Kilis municipality near the Syrian border, knocks on the door of the Hayat family. She smiles, you can see that despite the protective mask. "It's a particularly beautiful moment when the door opens and you see the glow on their faces when I distribute the sets." The 24-year-old is sure that it is about more than just material help. "The families sense that someone is thinking of them and caring for them." 60,000 families in 31 provinces have so far received hygiene materials such as respirators, soap, towels and sanitary products. In addition, 90,000 homeschooling kits have been distributed in 62 of Turkey's 81 provinces.

In Hatay province, Melek (12), Ali (9), and Hassan (6 years) are happy about the school materials. Ali would like to play football with his friends, but due to corona restrictions he spends most of the day in the home garden. His sister was initially excited about not having to go to school, but now she misses the lessons and her friends. "I miss my old life," she says. Meanwhile, Ali and Hassan have discovered that the learning set also includes games. They immediately start a game of Tangram.

Dr Charlotte Schmitz

UNICEF Article

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