New Hope, New School

Like most of the world, the members of the Bursa Koza Lions Club were shocked by the magnitude of the earthquake that hit southern Türkiye and northern Syria on the morning of February 6, 2023. The quake was the deadliest to hit present-day Türkiye, killing over 50,000 people and leaving an estimated 1.5 million homeless.

The club witnessed essential aid like water, food and hygiene supplies coming into the area, and volunteers assisting with distribution. They immediately joined in to help, providing soup, blankets, scarves, beanies and gloves to 1,000 people in the earthquake zone.

But the Bursa Koza Lions also knew that the earthquake would have lasting effects — especially on the children’s education — and began looking into ways they could help. Because of their experience following the 1999 Gölcük earthquake, they were able to quickly organize their service project, “Let’s Give the World to Children.”

At the top of their list was finding a safe space where the children could learn and play. After investigating options, the Lions settled on a MiniKo container — a durable, affordable and portable large-scale container that is often used for temporary shelter or offices. The first one they purchased was for the children, and in little time the children’s new space was filled with books, benches and smiles. It had become a one-room schoolhouse where children could safely gather to laugh, play and learn.

The Antakya Directorate of National Education assigned kindergarten teachers to the disaster village on a rotating basis. The teachers were happy to be able to reach the children in the earthquake zone.

The Bursa Koza Lions received so much interest in the school and appreciation from the community that donations came in from families and Lions, and the club was soon able to purchase four more containers. They knew that more sustainable service projects could also be carried out in their communities, especially in terms of providing shelter, and began working with multiple district (MD) 118 and the Bursa Nilüfer Municipality to establish Tent City, an area where they could keep the containers for a longer time. Two of the four containers purchased with the donated funds were delivered to Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Lions Disaster Village, and the other two were sent to Lions Container City in Adiyaman.

“In Hatay and Adıyaman Cities, the largest and most affected cities in the earthquake area, people are still living in containers and there are some more container schools,” said Lion Ceren İplikçi more than a year after the earthquake occurred.

The Bursa Koza Lions were recognized with a 2023-2024 Kindness Matters Service Award for their efforts to quickly and effectively serve their community in the aftermath of a natural disaster.