Children with special needs get new school in Istanbul
ISTANBUL
The opening ceremony is attended by many officials, including first lady Emine Erdoğan, Youth Minister Kasapoğlu and Revna Demirören.
A special education and training school has been opened in Istanbul’s Bağcılar district by the Life Sharing and Solidarity Association (HAYPADER) thanks to the support of local officials and agencies.
The school will offer equal opportunity in education to children with disabilities, Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu said during the opening ceremony of the HAYPADER Special Education Practice School yesterday.
“With this opportunity, our sons and daughters will reach the sunlight just like the snowdrop flowers that find a way through the soil,” he said.
First lady Emine Erdoğan presented the minister a plaque to mark the day.
Kasapoğlu, for his side, thanked the donors of the project and Bağcılar Mayor Lokman Çağırıcı for their support.
“I believe that our children who will be educated here will undersign significant successes in sports, arts, science and other fields,” the minister said.
“Most important of all, we will be assured that they are happy and they are smiling. This is all we work for,” he said, adding that projects to ease life for people with special needs require long-term efforts, Kasapoğlu said.
HAYPADER, headed by Revna Demirören, has been supported by the state’s football betting organization’s Spor Toto Organization, Istanbul Police Department, the Istanbul Directorate of Education Ministry, and the Bağcılar Municipality on the European side of the city.
Scholarships
Demirören also addressed the attendees, detailing the role of the school.
The association and Spor Toto had undersigned a protocol in January 2018 for the construction of the school complex with 5,000 square meters of indoor area that includes two multi-function sports facilities.
HAYPADER was founded in January 2013 and works to improve equal opportunity and reduce violence. It offers scholarships to students and organizes social campaigns for low-income families.
Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya, his wife Hatice Nur Yerlikaya, Istanbul police chief Mustafa Çalışkan, Istanbul Director for Education Ministry Levent Yazıcı, Demirören Holding Chair Yıldırım Demirören, Demirören Holding Vice Chair Meltem Demirören Oktay, HAYPADER Vice Chair Monik İpekel and other members of the association cut the ribbon for the opening of the school together.