A group of Turkish students volunteering in the 2018 Experience Sharing Program have completed their activities in Jordan on Tuesday.
Their visit to Jordan was part of the program organized by The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), in coordination with Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Agency and Turkish Radio and Television Corporation.
The students attended works at Clothing Bank, which distribute clothes to those in need in the country. The students later established "TIKA Friendship Forest," where 571 pine trees were planted in 4 days.
As part of the program, students also visited Turkey's embassy in Amman and Yunus Emre Institute's Turkish-Amman Cultural center, as well as the Amman Hejaz Railway Station that is being restored by TIKA.
Ebrar Demir, a Bilecik University student and one of the participants of the program, said: "We have made new and beautiful friendships here... The bridge of hearts that we established heralds the beginning of making the world a better place."
TIKA is to send some 500 Turkish students from 117 universities to 30 countries between July 29 and Sept. 8, within the framework of its 2018 Experience Sharing Program. The students will take part in nearly 100 projects and activities in their host countries.
The program covers various countries of the world such as Jordan, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Djibouti, Chad, Morocco, Ghana, Georgia, Cameroon, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Colombia, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Uzbekistan, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Moldova and South Africa.
The program includes interaction between the university students in Turkey and the youth living in different regions of Africa, Asia, Balkans and Middle East, where TIKA is supporting development projects.
It also aims at building “friendship bridges” among the students.
The program was first organized in 2017 by TIKA in cooperation with Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Agency and state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television (TRT).
Last year’s program was attended by 220 students, who visited 19 countries and fulfilled 28 projects.