Turkey donates school supplies in Ethiopia for students

By Addis Getachew and Tufan Aktas

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) – Turkey donated school supplies in Ethiopia to provide educational support for students in the East African country.

The donation was co-organized by Turkish Embassy in Ethiopia and a Turkish construction firm Yapi Merkezi, which is building a rail way in the Ethiopia.

The aid will be distributed to 19,000 students in the capital Addis Ababa, Yaprak Alp, Turkey’s ambassador to Ethiopia, told Anadolu Agency during the handover ceremony at the Bole community school.

Abraham Asrat, the head of public and international relations department in the Addis Ababa city administration, received the donation from Alp and Murat Ocal, Yapi Merkezi country manager for Ethiopia.

The donation included pencils, sharpeners, erasers, exercise books to be handed out in public schools within the Bole Sub city area.

Alp said the donation was a move of the Turkish government and Yapi Merkezi to support the students after they “heard about the free education campaign of the Addis Ababa city administration.”

Receiving the donation, Abraham said his administration initiated a project to provide students with education materials, school uniforms and tuition for free.

“We have been doing this by cooperating with embassies and the donor community,” he said.

“Today’s donation made by Yapi Merkezi and the Turkish Embassy is a significant one in backing the free education project of the city administration,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Meanwhile, Ocal said his company have been involved in development activities in Ethiopia.

“We have been constructing a major railway line in the northeastern part of the country and 92% of its construction has already been completed,” he said. “My company would like to continue to engage in the development activities underway throughout Ethiopia.”