Today's Zaman
Turkish charity organization Kimse Yok Mu on Wednesday gave 309 Somalis the opportunity to receive a quality education in Turkey, according to a news report from the Cihan news agency.
The students, along with Kimse Yok Mu officials and Somali Education Minister Ahmet Eydid İbrahim, arrived at İstanbul Atatürk Airport early Wednesday morning, where they were welcomed by more Kimse Yok Mu representatives.
İbrahim thanked the Turkish people and the government for their support and said that there is a particular need for education in Somalia. Kimse Yok Mu has done much for the country, İbrahim added, and he said that he has faith that aid will continue in the future.
Kimse Yok Mu Public Relations Coordinator Mevlüt Özkişi said the Somali people need sustainable aid and that for that reason the charity brought 309 Somali students to Turkey.
The students, who Özkişi said were overjoyed when they arrived, will be able to significantly contribute to the development of their country when they complete their education.
According to Özkişi, 49 Somali students were previously brought to Turkey. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's goal is to provide 500 students with an education in Turkey, Özkişi said.
One Somali student, Nesra El Hüseyin, said she is very happy to be in Turkey. After completing her studies, El Hüseyin said that she wants to be a doctor. She will move back to Somalia, where she said she wants to serve her people. Other students also said that they were excited to be studying in Turkey.
The 309 students, who hail from seven cities in Somalia, are high school and university-bound.
The student exchange program is just one part of a massive aid campaign undertaken by Turkey in response to East Africa's worst drought in 60 years. Turkey's relief efforts so far have included donating TL 500 million in aid to Somalia and distributing food to 12 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. The UN's refugee agency recently declared that the east African drought is currently the "worst humanitarian disaster” in the world, and has urged other international actors to pledge additional assistance.
Published on Today's Zaman, 28 September 2011, Wednesday
More articles on Somalia
Latest news, academic excerpts, commentary, book reviews and interviews on Fethullah Gulen and the Hizmet Movement (aka The Gulen Movement).
Search This Blog
Overview
Content from 164 countries/states
Categories
New Audio Podcast
Some Highlights
- Top Three Reasons Why Turkey’s President Erdogan is Obsessed with Gulen
- Turkish witch-hunt against the Gulen movement lacks one thing: Evidence
- Bill Clinton on Fethullah Gulen's contribution to the world
- Erdoğan’s war against Hizmet: Step by step
- Is Gulen Movement a religious order?
- Is the Gülen Movement a civil society initiative?
- Popular Islam – Hizmet-Gülen Movement and Fethullah Gülen
- Why do they lie about Fethullah Gülen?
- The Responsibility of the Hizmet movement
- Gülen movement is a chance for humanity, American professor says
- Gulen Movement: An attempt to represent Islam and Muslims positively
- Muslims Must Combat the Extremist Cancer
- The Place of the Gulen Movement in the intellectual history of Islam
- A Universal Islamic Phenomenon in Turkish Religious Practice: the Gülen Case
Suggested Readings
Disclaimer: Copyrights and ideas in the articles belong to their respective owners. Hizmet Movement (Gulen Movement) Blog may not be held liable from the content of articles nor their potential misuse by third parties. Articles shared are not necessarily endorsed. Links and images used in the blog posts may differ from those at their original source. Translated articles are solely intended for the convenience of the readers, and may include minor errors.