With the support of the World Children's Foundation in Germany and hosted by the Samandağ Municipality, Turkey's largest crèche, which will provide multilingual education in Turkish, German and English, is being built in the Samandağ district of Hatay. The crèche, the foundation of which was laid yesterday, will have 4 classes. It was stated that two of these classes will be allocated to children in the 1-3 age group, while two classes will be for children in the 3-6 age group.
Samandağ Mayor Refik Eryılmaz, DÇV Board of Directors Chairman Ali Koban and members were present at the groundbreaking ceremony, and many citizens also attended.
World Children's Foundation Board of Directors Chairman Ali Koban, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, said that they have adopted the principle of mobilizing for the people of Hatay, who suffered great damage in the earthquake, since the first day of the earthquake
Koban, who stated that they were here with the donations they received from Germany thanks to the trust created by DÇV and ISS-Netzwerk company, said, “We are among you for an important groundbreaking ceremony. We called it a journey to hope. We are laying the foundation of the journey to hope here today. We acted with the principle that no matter how difficult these basic conditions are, there is always a glimmer of hope, a way out.”
Koban added that they will remember the painful date of February 6 as a day they will never forget and said:
“February 6 is a day we will never forget. From the first day of the earthquake, we, as the ISS-Netzwerk gGmbh and the Turkish German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, started a donation campaign. I came to Hatay to determine the needs with the contributions of our Turkish citizens, especially our German friends, to heal the wounds. I stayed at the coordination center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and shared your pain. I still cannot forget those days, and with every visit, those days pass before my eyes like a film strip. 81 percent of the buildings in the city were destroyed or severely damaged, and the roads were in disaster. We helped whoever we could in the desperation of the people. Because people lost their loved ones, friends, life partners, homes, workplaces and more importantly, the places where they were born, raised, had families and lived, and their history was destroyed.”
“Where there is hope, miracles bloom”
Emphasizing that the children still have not overcome the trauma, DÇV President Ali Koban continued her speech at the groundbreaking ceremony held yesterday as follows:
“Life can flow like water. But the earthquake that came suddenly did not give back what it took. The sadness and darkness of that helplessness settled inside us. But thank God, it did not last long, because we knew that as a people, as a nation, we would overcome this disaster by embracing each other, closing ranks and showing solidarity. Because “miracles bloom where there is hope”. We set out to create a miracle and make flowers bloom.
After evaluating with my Board of Directors friends, we made the decision to build an urgent nursery. Now, with a more permanent structure for the future, we will be a home for children with the responsibility that comes with being an institution. I would like to thank Samandağ Mayor Refik Eryılmaz, who has supported the project since the day I first mentioned it. We now have some salt in the soup, and we are incredibly happy for the children who are the trust of our future.”
Koban continued his speech as follows:
“You may rightly ask, why a nursery? Because the future of a country begins with a child’s story. This was our motto on this path. Even if the first nursery is the foundation, we will instill universal values such as merit, fairness, sharing and respect in our children with the education we will provide with the nurseries we will open later, and ensure that children who are beneficial to our country and nation are raised.
Because we know that Hatay, which draws strength from its history, is also a city of religions and languages. In this cultural mosaic, it has been a city where people can live together with their needs and different identities in safety for centuries. The spirit of the city that has been created has been living as a cultural diversity for centuries. And it will continue to live. For this reason, we have taken care to ensure that the nursery project we will implement is multilingual. There are 4 classes in the nursery where Turkish, German and English education will be given. Two classes will be for children aged 1-3, and two classes will be for children aged 3-6. Each class will have its own activity room, sleeping room, handicraft workshop, music, painting, theater and art rooms. The total area of the nursery, including the environment, is 630 m2.”
“Traumas will be overcome with a sandpit”
The open area of the nursery is 1,500 m2 and there will be a sandpit with expert psychologists, especially for children to overcome the earthquake trauma they experienced. The nursery construction is a steel-framed prefabricated structure that complies with international and European nursery quality and criteria and will be built earthquake-resistant.
The total area allocated by the municipality is 6,000 m2, and apart from the education and garden, the remaining area will include a farm with small cattle and a hobby garden.
President Koban, who mentioned that education will be provided in Turkish, German and English, said, “I would like to state that we will also take initiatives to ensure that our children continue their education there after kindergarten in the academic process by remaining in dialogue with schools where foreign languages are taught.”
In his speech, KOBAN stated that the priority in nursery registration will be the children of single and working mothers and children of low-income families, and emphasized that their principle is to ensure equal opportunities among children.
“The second nursery will be built in Defne”
Koban stated that the second nursery project will come to life in Hatay-Defne and said:
“A place was allocated to us with the decision taken by Defne Municipality Council. While we gave the good news that we will lay the foundation as soon as possible by providing budget financing for Defne, our other initiative will be Antakya. While we were talking about one nursery, today we are talking about three nurseries. These are the flowers of not losing hope.”
“A place was allocated to us with the decision taken by Defne Municipality Council. While we gave the good news that we will lay the foundation as soon as possible by providing budget financing for Defne, our other initiative will be Antakya. While we were talking about one nursery, today we are talking about three nurses. These are the flowers of not losing hope.”
President Eryılmaz, who stated that they will provide this service thanks to the initiative and support of the World Children's Foundation, said, "Since the first day, the President and Management of the DCV have not left us alone. We have always felt the support of our other friends in Germany and continue to do so. Thanks to this solidarity, I believe that we will heal the wounds of the earthquake as soon as possible."
According to the statements made, the construction of the nursery was supported by the ISS-Netzwerk gGmbh, the Turkish German Chamber of Industry and Commerce RTL Television Foundation, the SAP Foundation, the Stlep association, the Bild Newspaper's Heart for Children Association, the Berlin Turkish and German Women's Association and many NGOs.
News Source:
https://dunyacocuklari.org.tr/haber/hatayin-en-buyuk-kresi-samandagda 
