Ziyamet Primary School enjoy

LSOK funding

By Margaret Sheard

We had recently been made aware of a very generous donation of 10,000TL by the Little Society of Kyrenia to Ziyamet Primary School in the Karpaz to enable the children of the area to have some educational benefits which would not otherwise be available to them. We have now received an update of the ways in which these funds are being utilised and it is so refreshing to hear of this kind of assistance being given to help the young generation of North Cyprus to develop not only in their education but also with regard to social awareness and the environment.

The 260 children of the primary school at Ziyamet in the Karpaz continue to enjoy the benefits of the 10,000TL grant from the Little Society of Kyrenia.

Recently Mary Watson from LSOK, together with 3 supporters of the organisation, visited the school to learn more about the future projects. Ibrahim Bayikoglu, the Head Teacher, is using the money to give the children new experiences. Ibrahim said “I want them to see and do things that they could not normally enjoy and relate it to their education. So, if they are learning about hospitals, I arrange a trip to a local hospital so that they can see how it works in practice. The older pupils have also visited a radio station and local newspaper so that they can compare the impact of the spoken and written word. Without the funding from LSOK this would not be possible”.

One of their next projects is to plant 100 trees, starting in the school garden, and focusing on trees which are endemic to Cyprus. This includes original olive trees which have not been produced from grafts.

They have a musical group at the school including a guitar, flute, violin, drums and bazooka. They are working hard to prepare for a concert in May and now have smart new outfits.

One of the real needs at the school is for more projectors, especially to aid learning in the reception class where the children come to the school unable to read or write. LSOK are happy to fund 3 projectors, at an approximate cost of 4,300TL, in addition to the 10,000 TL already donated.

During the school visit the children had an extra treat. The school has been given a large selection of pens and stationery from an anonymous donor and some of these were handed out to the children. They looked delighted.