The Turkish schools were recently steeped in controversy after the Turkish government linked to being part of activities of self-exiled clergy Fethullah Gulen whose global network is accused by the Ankara government for fomenting terrorism, and money laundering.
In the end, when analysing this most recent coup attempt, and judging the Hizmet movement or Fethullah Gulen’s involvement comes down to the simple fact that Hizmet activity revolves around education, charity and dialogue, and underpinning all of its work are love, compassion, equality and positive engagement. Essentially, this is epitomised in the fact that the turkish word ‘Hizmet’ literally means ‘service’.
In Kenya, where Gulen’s Omeriye Foundation has grown from its first school in 1998 in the vast Nairobi slum of Kibera to a nationwide network of academies, the government has resisted pressure to close them down. Turkish officials have requested Kenya to shut down the Gulenist schools on a number of occasions before the attempted coup.
Light Academy started as 8-4-4 system in 1998, in a small compound on Ngong Road in Nairobi, with eight students. The IGCSE system was introduced in 2001. It has now grown to accommodate 1,600 students in eight campuses, one in Malindi, two in Mombasa and five in Nairobi.
KYM Secretary General Savas Metin said this campus will function as a base in Malindi for the aid efforts to be done in the region. “We have brought drinking water for 1 million people, with the water wells we established in the drought-ridden Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya. We will not only educate underprivileged students at Light Academy but provide medical aid.”
Kenya Embassy donations were channelled through Kimse Yok Mu (or ‘Is Any One there’), a Turkish Non-Governmental Organisation on 29th January, 2013. It is noted that Kimse Yok Mu is one of the international NGOs that actively responded to the Horn of Africa humanitarian crisis in 2011 that saved the lives of thousands of Somali refugees from imminent death due to prolonged drought.
South African President Jacob Zuma and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have both expressed support for Turkish schools in their country, amid the Turkish government’s attempts to shut down Turkish schools located abroad that are affiliated with the Hizmet movement.
Kimse Yok Mu volunteers have taken action to heal Kenya where 68 people lost their lives in a terrorist attack last month. Thanks to the Anatolian philanthropists and volunteers, thousands of African families were able to enjoy Eid al-Adha sprit fully, as it should be. 160 Konya (a central Turkey province) philanthropists and volunteers under […]
Fethullah Gülen: I deplore these revolting acts of terrorism, which serve no purpose but to bring about destruction, sorrow and grief. I reiterate my condemnation of all forms of terror regardless of its perpetrators and their stated purposes. The criminals must be brought to justice even though that will do little to mitigate the cruelty inflicted on victims and their families.
The philanthropists from Konya (a province in Turkey) contributed to the aid activities with both their donations and hands-on work during distributions organized by KYM in various countries including Kenya. A team of seven philanthropists, in person, distributed aid to some one thousand residents in the tin house neighborhood in Nairobi and later 300 families in the city Malinda.
KYM* has started construction of a medical center in Northern Kenya near Dadaab Refugee Camp as well as delivering food and medical aid to those Somalians who are suffering with hunger and thirst. The Somalian people had migrated with their families to Dadaab Refugee Camp, which is on the Kenya-Somalia border, between June and July […]