New Zealand to fund new school in Turkey for Syrians

By Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA (AA) – New Zealand is set to fund a new school for Syrian child refugees sheltering in Turkey’s southeast as part of its humanitarian aid program, according to a letter published in Turkey’s Official Gazette Tuesday.

According to the letter written by New Zealand Ambassador to Turkey Jonathan Andrew Curr, his country is donating 1.28 New Zealand dollars (around $900,000) for construction of a 23-classroom school in the southeastern Sanliurfa province.

The grant will also be used for necessary equipment including writing boards, chairs, desks, heating and cooling systems, and landscape design.

Turkey’s Education Ministry will be responsible for handling the school’s construction process in its entirety, from choosing a location to organizing the opening ceremony.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-torn country, according to the UN.

Turkey now hosts some 3 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world. The country has spent around $25 billion helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian war.