Statements by U.S. Officials

U.S. – Turkey Signing Ceremony on Combating Child Labor

September 22, 2005

Charge d’ Affairs Nancy McEldowney with Minister of Education Hüseyin Çelik and Minister of Labor  Murat Başesgioğlu

Sayın Bakanlar ve değerli konuklar.  Bugün son derece önemli bir şey yapıyoruz. Amerika ve Türkiye olarak biz birlikte, çok yakın işbirliği içinde gelecek için yeni bir altyapı yaratıyoruz.  Herkesin bildişi gibi, çocuklar bizim geleceğimizdir.   Umutlarımızı ver hayallerimizi, genç yaşamlarında ve narin yüreklerinde muhafaza ederler.  Çocuklarımız için elimizden gelen her şeyi yapmalıyız. 

I am very pleased and very proud to be here today with all of you and to join with the distinguished Ministers of Education and Labor to launch this crucial program.  

There is nothing more important for the future of a nation than the welfare of its children.  And there is no one who knows that better than the warm and wonderful people of Turkey for whom children are the most cherished treasure in life.  

Americans and Turks share a deep compassion for their own children, as well as an unshakable conviction that we must do everything possible to create lives of promise for all children.  It is that shared compassion and conviction that has brought us together here today and that will sustain us in our joint efforts over the coming months and years. 

One of the most essential things we can do for our children is to provide them with an education.  For education is not simply about facts and figures.  Education is the key that we use to open the world of ideas and opportunities.  It is the tool that we use to build a better future upon the foundation of the past. 

The educational year began in Turkey last week and schools across the country were filled with the sound of children’s laughter and learning.  But in the midst of this happy noise, there was also a hollow ring from the desks that went unfilled, as many children stayed at home or went to work. 

In this year alone, the United States Government has contributed 15 million dollars for programs dedicated to helping the children of Turkey get the education that they want and so richly deserve.  A few months ago we gave a 9 million dollar grant to help poor families keep their children in school.  And today, we launch a 6 million dollar program to help families working in agriculture get their children out of the fields and into schools. 

The project we launch today, the Tarladan Okula project, will reach out to 10,000 children all over Turkey.  And it will help give them what all of us want to give to our children – a helping hand and a chance to make their lives better. 

I thank all of you who have helped make this project possible.  I applaud your efforts and stand as a ready partner in this most worthy of endeavors.