Some youngsters in Turkey left homeless by the series of major earthquakes in the country last month are attending a makeshift school set up at a temporary housing community.
A magnitude-7.8 quake hit southern Turkey on February 6 near the Syrian border. The quake and subsequent tremors have killed more than 51,000 people. A total of 45,089 lives were lost in Turkey and 5,914 in Syria. Many other people have been left homeless.
A school in Nurdagi, southern Turkey, resumed classes last week for junior- and senior-high school students.
About 20 junior-high students sat in classes on Thursday. One of them said she is enjoying the school with her friends. But she said she is heartbroken as she lost four friends in the disaster.
The school holds classes with the help of volunteers, including an English-language teacher who was injured in one of the quakes.
She said that besides giving lessons, she feels it is important to have the students talk about what they went through and share their emotions.
UNICEF's regional director for Europe and Central Asia said last week that the education of nearly 4 million children in Turkey is at risk due to the overwhelming number of schools that were damaged or destroyed.