AFAD volunteers draw pictures on village school’s walls

ERZURUM

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) volunteers have drawn cartoon characters on the walls of a village school in the eastern province of Erzurum.

Some 15 AFAD volunteers have worked for community service since the earthquakes which occurred in Erzurum in June 2020 and in November 2021.

Within the scope of renovation works of a village school, the volunteers extended a helping hand to Beyköy Primary and Secondary School with four classrooms, which is 138 kilometers from the city center.

The team drew cartoon characters loved by children on the walls of the school, where 50 students receive education and five teachers work, with the materials the volunteers provided with their own resources.

Cansu Betül Badem, one of the teachers of the village school, stated that the teachers recently painted the interior and exterior walls of the school as the school needed repairs.

Following that the teachers decided to decorate the walls with cartoon characters, they contacted the AFAD volunteers in the region, she stated.

“AFAD volunteers came to our village school, and we started working together. The children were really happy when they saw the drawings,” Badem said.

“We thank AFAD volunteers for their support on behalf of our children and villagers,” she added.

According to official data published in September, the number of AFAD volunteers reached 599,108.

In May, more than half a million volunteers enrolled in courses organized regularly by AFAD. Nearly 500 AFAD volunteers showed up when an earthquake struck the Aegean province of İzmir’s Seferihisar district. Volunteers also took part in the social support groups established during the COVID-19 pandemic.