Turkish aid agency donates books, furniture to Kenyan school
NAIROBI - Anadolu Agency
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) refurbished a high school library with books and furniture in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on July 5.
The school, which offers education to more than 1,500 boys aged between 12 and 19 years, is now equipped with 2,000 books and furniture from Turkey.
TİKA Nairobi coordinator Emre Yuksek told state-run Anadolu Agency the donation from Turkey is aimed at promoting holistic education, encouraging and enriching reading and learning experiences among students, staff and school communities.
“We are gathered here today to handover a newly remodeled and furnished library that will equip you, students, with lifelong skills and develop your imagination,” Yuksek said.
“This library is not just for students and staff enrolled in the school right now, it is here for generations to come; it is a place to view the wonders of the world and weigh the disasters of humanity,” he added.
Thai school to teach Turkish
A Thai school will be teaching the Turkish language as part of its curriculum, an official of Turkey’s Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) said on July 5.
Ömer Altun, head of the YEE’s Kuala Lumpur office, said Turkish will be taught as a school subject in Thailand for the first time.
“Turkish lessons will be taught as a compulsory course in the Integrated Islamic School in the city of Pattani,” he said.
In late April, the Kuala Lumpur office of YEE and the Thai school - Integrated Islamic School - in Pattani had signed a protocol in this regard.
According to the protocol, 442 students at the school will take Turkish language classes.
On a related note, YEE in Moscow has produced its first graduates. Around 40 students received their certificates during a graduation ceremony for successfully completing a three-month Turkish teaching course at the institute.
Ömer Özkan, head of the YEE Moscow chapter, told Anadolu Agency that there was great interest in the institute’s upcoming Turkish teaching programs in the Russian capital.
“Not only Turkish courses but also the planned courses on the traditional Turkish handicrafts have already attracted great demand,” Ozkan said.
Named after a 13th century Turkish poet, the Yunus Emre Institute aims to promote Turkey through public and cultural diplomacy activities. With 55 offices abroad, the institute currently operates in over 40 countries.
