On 31 March 2015, DVV International and its strategic partner in Turkey, YUVA, opened an education and meeting centre for Syrian refugees and the local population in the small town of Nizip in South Eastern Turkey. It is the second adult education facility of this kind; the first centre was opened in Kirikhan in August 2013. Both centres are to help improve the situation of Syrian refugees and locals in Turkey.
At the invitation of DVV International, Barbara Stamm, the President of the Bavarian Land Parliament, and Martin Neumeyer, Integration Commissioner of the Bavarian State Government, also travelled to Nizip for the formal opening. Barbara Stamm stressed in her speech that education particular in was now key to overcoming the refugee drama: “We need to adopt a different stance towards development and aiding refugees and to focus on education. Education is the most important thing, and we will forget it at our peril.”
The opening was also attended by the Mayor and the Deputy Governor of the Gaziantep Region, representatives from DVV International and YUVA, as well as residents of the town of Nizip.
The centre in Nizip will now be providing a broad range of further training courses for all the town’s residents. The range includes language courses, primarily Turkish and Arabic, mother-and-child courses, as well as courses providing vocational training and imparting key skills. The centre furthermore offers psychological advice for the frequently traumatised refugees from the war-ridden areas of neighbouring Syria and Iraq.
Nizip is situated roughly 65 kilometres Northwest of Kobane, a place which we all remember as a symbol of the terrible horrors of the war in Syria. The situation in Nizip is difficult since the number of refugees is already equal to the number of locals. It can be presumed that the refugees cannot return to Syria or Iraq in the next few years. DVV International and YUVA are therefore pursuing a long-term approach and attempting to help people build a new life away from home.
Education centre for Syrian refugees opened in Nizip, Turkey
