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Turkey’s aid agency aims to instill in students a sense of volunteering with around 100 projects that will be realized abroad.
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) will send 500 students from 117 universities in Turkey to 30 countries between July 29 and Sept. 8, within the framework of “2018 Experience Sharing Program”.
The students, including 300 males and 200 females, will participate in around 100 projects and activities in the countries they visit.
The program will give the students an opportunity to observe the TIKA and Turkish non-governmental organizations’ efforts.
Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) will help around 3 million needy people across the world during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.The agency will distribute Eid meat to the millions of people in 103 countries, according to Secretary General of IHH Yavuz Dede said.“There are some regions which are impoverished. If you do not send meat there, there is a really low possibility that the people there get to eat meat,” he added.The agency will prioritize people in refugee camps, war-torn and poor regions and those who are hit by natural disasters.Elders, orphans, and widows will also be at the center of the aid efforts. Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, Yemen, Bangladesh, Arakan and East Turkestan are among the places that the agency will send aid to.The agency will also distribute gifts to orphans during Eid al-Adha as they did at all the religious festivals.“There are around 92,000 orphan children who we currently give support to,” the IHH official noted.
Turkish agency to send Eid meat to 3M people abroad
The program will begin on July 29 with an orientation in Istanbul and after that the first group will leave for Niger.
Apart from Niger, the students will go to Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Djibouti, Chad, Morocco, Ghana, Georgia, Cameroon, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Colombia, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mozambique, Namibia, Uzbekistan, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Jordan, Moldova and South Africa.
They will participate in the implementation of projects related to renovation and reparation of schools, orphanages, libraries and places of worship, as well as providing them with equipment.
The students will also join social, cultural and humanitarian aid activities.
Turkey's Ambassador to Zambia Sebnem Incesu said the African country would like to see more Turkish investors.In an exclusive interview to Anadolu Agency in the wake of the first Turkish presidential visit to Zambia, Incesu said the two countries had rapidly improved bilateral relations since the opening of the Turkish Embassy in Lusaka in 2011.The Zambian Embassy in Ankara opened in 2013."Zambia closely monitors and appreciates Turkey's economic moves and its growing presence in Africa," she said.Turkish aid agency cheers Africa's interest in TurkeyIncesu said that Zambia has great potential in economic terms with its rich underground and overland resources, agricultural areas, young population, and high urbanization rate."Zambian authorities expect more bilateral economic and trade relations to be developed with investment focus and create added value and employment," Incesu said.According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the trade volume between Turkey and Zambia in 2017 was $21.8 million.Erdoğan arrives in Johannesburg to attend BRICS summitTurkish export to Zambia was worth $16.6 million while its import from Zambia was worth $5.2 million, the figures of the ministry says."Turkish investors are not yet fully aware of the Zambian market," said the envoy, adding that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's upcoming visit to the country had already increased attention to the bilateral and economic relations. Erdoğan will pay an official visit to Zambia on July 28. As part of his visit, Erdoğan will meet Zambian President Edgar Lungu to discuss bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international developments.Turkish president to visit Zambia on July 28
Zambia eyes more Turkish investors
Experience Sharing Program
The program includes interaction between the university students in Turkey and the youth living in different regions of Africa, Asia, Balkans and Middle East, where TIKA is supporting development projects.
It also aims at building “friendship bridges” between the students.
The program was first organized in 2017 by TIKA in cooperation with Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Agency and state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television (TRT).
Last year’s program was attended by 220 students, who visited 19 countries and fulfilled 28 projects.
The students visited Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, Senegal, Guinea, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Uganda, Jordan and Lebanon.