Seaside Magic for the

Karakum Special Needs School Children

By Mary Watson……
The Little Society of Kyrenia……

It was a magical moment when a 12 year old girl from Karakum Special Needs School, who had never walked, was helped into the sea and started moving her hands and feet, with a look of sheer delight on her face. This was one of many experiences which made a day trip to the sea at Balci Plaza in Yenierenkoy so special.

The Little Society of Kyrenia, with additional funding from a concert performed by the Music Lovers Group, arranged for 14 children from the Karakum School to travel by coach together with the Head Teacher, Musa Saygi, other staff and some of the mothers.

The day began with gifts of teeshirts and baseball caps donated by Creditwest Bank and the children then had the chance to explore the beach and take part in a treasure hunt. They just loved the sea and Adem Osman Adem and the CESV volunteers really entered into the spirit of the day and ensured that they had as much fun as possible.

The day ended with a splendid meal provided free by Hasan Balci and entertainment by guitarist and singer Mike Ennis from the Music Lovers Group, who had learnt to sing in Turkish specially for the day.

LSOK are grateful to everyone who donated their time and services to the event. Cyprusbus provided free transport and Starling Supermarkets donated refreshments and goody bags to keep the children entertained on the coach and buckets and spades.

I have been to many charity events over the years and this has to be one of the best. It wasn’t just the children that had a fabulous day. The mothers had the opportunity to spend some quality time together and enjoy a paddle. We will certainly give children from the other Special Needs Schools on the island the opportunity to spend a day at the seaside and maybe the experience will encourage other groups of people to consider what can be done to enrich the lives of these special children. Perhaps water therapy could also be considered.