STORY: Training center offers motivation to young earthquake survivors in southern Türkiye
SHOOTING DATE: Feb. 1, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 8, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:03
LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of earthquake victims living in a container city in Nurdagi district of Gaziantep in Türkiye
2. various of students preparing for the exam at an education center in Nurdagi district of Gaziantep province in Türkiye
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): SEMIH BIRSAT ORCAN, Student
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): SEMIH BIRSAT ORCAN, Student
5. various of social entrepreneurship, empowerment and cohesion project promotional poster
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): EMINE KURULUR, Counselor at the center
7. SOUNDBITE 4 (Turkish): SILA KUDAILGA, Student

STORYLINE:

Nineteen-year-old Semih Birsat Orcan had big dreams for the future. However, the massive earthquakes that struck the southern part of Türkiye on Feb. 6, 2023 has changed his life.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): SEMIH BIRSAT ORCAN, Student
"I was preparing for the university entrance exam at the year of the earthquake, but after the disaster, there was no house, no classroom, no place left to study."

After the earthquakes, life is hard for Semih who lives in a cramped container with his family.

Thanks to extensive support from a training center at the Nurdagi district of the Gaziantep province, Semih is now trying to pick up his life.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): SEMIH BIRSAT ORCAN, Student
"After my teachers told me about this center, I decided to take the exam this year and pursue my goals. We can call this center our home. I'm not alone here. I have friends. We have a library. All are extra motivation to us."

This center is a part of the "social entrepreneurship, empowerment, and cohesion project" jointly established by the Gaziantep governorship and a development agency.

Emine Kurulur, a counselor at the center, told Xinhua that the center also offers several courses for adults and children on many topics, including chess and robotic coding.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): EMINE KURULUR, Counselor at the center
"All the students here used to live in containers and did not have the opportunity to find a place to study, so they actively used this center."

SOUNDBITE 4 (Turkish): SILA KUDAILGA, Student
"The night of Feb. 6 was a disaster for us. We lost our home and everything, close friends, teachers, acquaintances, and the environment. We psychologically collapsed. As such centers are opened, we have recovered a little bit. Otherwise, preparing for the university exam would only have been a distant dream for us. Our future will hopefully be better than our past."

Nearly one year ago, two powerful earthquakes struck southern Türkiye, claiming the lives of over 53,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Istanbul, Türkiye.
(XHTV)