Philanthropist becomes teacher in kindergarten she donated

TEKİRDAĞ

A 50-year-old woman in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ has become a trainee teacher in a kindergarten she donated to the Education Ministry in 2017 after studying pediatric development in a university for four years.

“Children in the kindergarten used to call me ‘Teyze’ (Aunt) or ‘Abla’ (Sister). Now they call me ‘Öğretmenim’ (My teacher). This is very exciting,” said Müjgan Karagöz, a well-known philanthropist in the province, on March 28.

The story of Müjgan Karagöz and her husband, Serkan Karagöz, dates back to the beginning of the 2010s when the couple decided to spend their wealth for the sake of children as they could not have one during their marriage.

The couple, who earned a living by working as real estate agents, established an educational center for the province’s disabled and handicapped children in 2013.

In 2018, Müjgan Karagöz, who was 47 at the time, donated her triplex villa to the Education Ministry to be used as a kindergarten.

However, that was not all as she wanted to do something more for children, so she decided to become a teacher.

She qualified in the university exams that year and attended the Children Development Faculty of the Atatürk University in the eastern province of Erzurum.

Finishing the first three years online, Müjgan Karagöz, as a fourth-year student, had to work in a school for an internship to graduate.

“I directly decided that I should work as a trainee teacher in the kindergarten that holds my name,” she said.

“You cannot believe how nervous I was on the first day of my internship. Now I am okay,” she said, highlighting that she would continue to be in the service of children for life as both a philanthropist and a teacher.

“I am proud of her and stand by my wife,” Serkan Karagöz said.

“We hope that she will finish the internship in her kindergarten and graduate from the university as soon as possible,” he emphasized.

Saying that they, as a couple, will continue to do good for the state and people, he stressed that new donations were on the way.

“We will do and make good things for children in the upcoming future,” he said, adding that he also wanted to build a mosque in the province.