Turkey: Project to create a library successfully completed

Posted on Posted in Uncategorized

According to the definition established by General Comment No. 13 of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to education is a fundamental right as well as an indispensable means of realising other human rights.

Education, as an empowerment right, is the main tool that can enable economically and socially marginalised adults and children to find their way out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities. It also serves as a form of protection against labour exploitation as well as sexual exploitation. This right to education additionally helps promote human rights and democracy, protection of the environment and economic growth.

Education is increasingly considered to be one of the best financial investments a state can make.

Humanium’s role is to promote and reinforce children’s rights on an international level, particularly in countries where children are still hoping to see their rights enforced. It is within this context that Humanium and the Human Resource Development Foundation decided to work together to set up a library in order to raise awareness and improve children’s intellectual and cultural lives.

fotoğraf libr 4

Humanium wanted to put a lot into this project because Turkey is a country that welcomes large numbers of refugee children. Turkey is indeed on the border between Africa and Europe. In the wake of the Arab Spring, many children suffered in a lot of countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Libya, and even Iran and Afghanistan. In Syria, for example, over 4000 schools were either completely or partially destroyed.

The library is situated in the centre of Istanbul. Easily accessible for a great number of children, it has many complete books on a whole host of topics in a wide range of subject areas. There are books available in several languages including English, Arabic, French, Turkish and Persian, to ensure the library is accessible to the greatest possible number of children from different countries and with different native languages.

The right to education is one of the fundamental children’s rights; therefore, we have an obligation to protect this right. Thanks to the generous influx of donations from all over the world, Humanium and the Human Resource Development Foundation have put the final touches to this library.

The idea of a library is somewhat different to the rest of the projects supported by Humanium, since this project is not only about helping young children, but also teenagers of 16 and 17 years of age.

The difficult conditions the children have lived in after their exile and asylum, due to numerous factors such as war or immigration, may result in the emergence of a generation of children suffering from illiteracy. This is a serious violation of the right to education.

Through your donations, better implementation of the right to education helps children to find joy and happiness in reading and enables them to escape from their daily environment, which is sometimes far from ideal.

We therefore want to thank you for all of your efforts, both through your donations and your support. We also want to thank the Human Resource Development Foundation for its cooperation in the protection of children’s rights and we sincerely hope to be able to expand the library as soon as possible.

Written by: Osama Rihan

Translated by: Amanda Fearnley