A new school for Samandağ: The initiative came from Dorsten

2023-06-24 22:03:52

This is what the new school for the children of Samandag should look like. Kadil Daglar from Dorsten started collecting donations shortly after the earthquake. © Dorsten Newspaper

If the children from the Turkish town of Samandağ will soon be going to a brand new school, they also have the initiative of a Dorsten educator to thank.

2 min reading time

Not a stone is left unturned, but Kadir Daglar and his colleagues are confident that a new school can be opened in September in the city of Samandag in Turkey, which was severely damaged by the earthquake.

The retired vocational school teacher from Dorsten has been collecting donations for the project since the devastating earthquake – with the Association of Turkish Teachers’ Associations at his side.

Daglar is now in his home country to set the course for the new building there. The school in Samandag is scheduled to open during his annual summer stay in Turkey.

The group led by Kadil Daglar receives important help from the mayor of the Turkish city of Nilüfer in the Bursa district. The social democrat Turgay Erdem and his administration are helping with the reconstruction in the earthquake area, organizing, for example, the daily provision of meals for around 600 people. He convinced Kadil Daglar with his commitment as a reputable local partner. The fact that Daglar’s wife and the mayor realized when they first met that they once spent their childhood in the same district quickly fostered a relationship of trust.

Traces of the earthquake everywhere: Kadir Daglar took this photo from the car.© private

In a telephone call to our editorial team from Turkey, the Dorstener reports: “The employees from Bursa will not only take over the supervision of the new school building. If necessary, the city will also support the project financially, because the donation amount is not yet sufficient.”

The initiators abandoned the original idea of ​​setting up school containers. Now it is supposed to be a permanent building.

press construction price

That was originally planned to be four meters high, says Daglar. For physical reasons, it has now been reduced to three meters, so there is hope that the construction price can be reduced from around 180,000 euros to a maximum of 140,000 euros. Discussions with the construction company are to follow in the next few days.

Meeting with the chairman of the umbrella organization of Turkish teachers in Germany, Yücel Tuna (from left), the mayor of Nilüfer, the city director of Samandağ, Kadil Daglar from Dorsten and the mayor of Samandağ.© private

Everything has already been “watertight” agreed with the authorities. Daglar is pleased that details have been discussed and protocols signed. Now we can start. The school should be up and running by the start of the new school year in September.

Daglar will remain in Turkey until then so that he can follow the progress of the project up close. From a distance, he thanks everyone who has helped and contributed so far on behalf of the group and especially the school children from Samandağ on the Mediterranean Sea.

donation account

Anyone who would like to support the school project can make a donation using the keyword “school container” to the ATÖF account, Ziraat-Bank Frankfurt, IBAN DE445122 0700 1032 9280 02. Donation receipts can be issued for donations.