A bud blooming in Hatay

Hatay is trying to heal the wounds of the February 6 earthquakes. Despite the destruction caused by the disaster and all the difficulties, the struggle for life continues on one hand.

In this picture, I will highlight a step taken to provide some relief to the pain and bring a smile to children's faces.

My dear colleague Mehmet Bozkurt, whom I have known for many years, has helped a bud bloom for children in Hatay together with his wife and 3-year-old daughter.

They have been in Hatay since the first days of the earthquake and have settled there.

Their efforts for the children affected by the earthquake...

They founded the Tomurcuk Association for the children to recover both psychologically and socially, and to be rehabilitated.

They set up a library consisting of two containers on a plot of land in Serinyol, Antakya.

Mehmet Bozkurt describes the time that has passed and their efforts with these words:

"I have been in Hatay since the first days of the earthquake. Since June, I have been in this ancient city with my family. Although I go to Istanbul frequently for work, my heart is in Hatay.

Dust, mud, piles of concrete, construction machinery, and loneliness... That is the summary of Hatay...

I worked as a journalist for many years. Currently, I am an executive at one of Turkey's long-established publishing houses. My wife is from Hatay, and we went to the region after the February 6 earthquake to provide support.

Hatay's understanding of people and the Hatay people's outlook on life is humane and friendly. Their way of life has always given us peace. After this great disaster, we said, 'We were with these people during their good days, we must also be with them during their difficult days.' This thought triggered us, and we set off for Hatay."

Since we are not doing this work with the support of any company or politics, we mobilized our circle of friends. We started working there with the support of people who trusted us directly. We thought that the more people in need we could touch, the better. This path eventually led to the establishment of the Tomurcuk Association."

Stating that all libraries in the region were destroyed, Bozkurt notes that their first activity was to establish a library for children there, which consists of two containers, and adds:

"Last week, we arranged almost all of our books on the shelves; now our tables and chairs are being made. We are currently creating a facility where young people can easily study or read books. We plan to develop these efforts with workshops. In addition to workshops supporting subjects like English, mathematics, and painting, as well as hobby-oriented ones, I want to help young people broaden their perspectives with a journalism workshop I will organize, and touch their lives, even if just a little. If we can make even a small contribution to their long-term education, we will consider ourselves to have done a useful job. I hope we will continue to be involved in this beautiful endeavor with the people who act with us."

The Tomurcuk Association set out with a spirit of volunteerism and solidarity and is moving forward...

Citizens in Hatay can reach them at the Tomurcuk Association's site in Serinyol. Those outside the city can follow them on Instagram at "Tomurcuk Derneği Hatay".

I wish Mehmet Bozkurt, his family, and those who support them ease and success.