Children jump into sea they saw for first time

SAMSUN

Within the scope of a social responsibility project, some 13 children from the southeastern province of Şırnak, who had never seen the sea before, were brought to the Black Sea province of Samsun.

“This is an unforgettable moment for them as they see the sea for the first time,” Elif Uysal, their class teacher, told İhlas News Agency.

The cost of the travel was sponsored by a local businessman, Olgun Aydoğan.

Uysal, working at a village school in Siirt’s Pervari district, contacted Aydoğan three years ago and told him about the project. He immediately accepted to sponsor it, but the coronavirus pandemic caused a delay of the project until May 19.

The children, who first stepped into Samsun, ran to the beach and played with seawater for a while.

When asked how the project was formed, the teacher pointed out the day she described the sea during a lesson to her children.

“When I told them about the sea, they said, ‘We know the sea.’ I asked, ‘How?’ Then I found out that they thought the lake near the village is the sea.”

Şırnak is located on Turkey’s east, on the Syrian border. The nearest province to the sea to Şırnak is the southern province of Hatay, which is around 680 kilometers away.