Turkish Ambassador concludes mission with massive donation for people with disabilities

As the term of mission for His Excellency Hakan Kivanc, the Ambassador of Türkiye to Zimbabwe draws to an end, the veteran diplomat decided to conclude his tour of duty with a donation to people with disabilities as a sign of his unwavering commitment to the promotion of inclusive societies in line with the United Nations’ call of leaving no one and no place behind.

Recipients of the donation described Ambassador Kivanc’s gesture as a sign of his unwavering commitment to community inclusiveness motivated by the desire to see people with disabilities being included in all aspects of life including making contributions to the establishment of laws that promote inclusiveness and equality.

Mr. Adam Wadi, the Director of the Islamic Information Bureau, was tasked by Ambassador Kivanc to identify people with disabilities in the marginalized areas of Hopley, Dzivarasekwa Extension, Norton, Stapleford, and Mahusekwa (Thompson Farm) who would benefit from an assortment of assistive devices to make their lives easier.

Handing over part of the donations to selected, needy people with disabilities yesterday at Kemcort Farm in Hopley on behalf of Ambassador Kivanc, Mr. Wadi said Türkiye is committed to participating in disability inclusion programmes in partnership with the government, donors, and other stakeholders.

“Türkiye is alive to the fact that people with disabilities endure stigma and discrimination as well as stereotypes in society. We would like to make it clear that disability is not a curse and neither is it an inability. To that effect, the outgoing Turkish Ambassador to Zimbabwe, His Excellency Hakan Kivanc has sent me here with 20 sets of crutches, 15 pieces of walking frames, 4 wheelchairs, and other assistive devices for distribution to highly needy people with disabilities in this area. He would have loved to be here in person to share this gesture of love but he has been summoned at the last minute to meet some dignitaries in government,” Mr. Wadi said.

Recently, the late former Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province, Hon Oliver Chidawu had a partnership with the Embassy of Türkiye which resulted in the drilling of 2 boreholes in Kambuzuma and 1 in Mufakose.

During Ambassador Kivanc’s tenure of office, the Turkish Diyanet Foundation also donated highly-mechanized, state-of-the-art boreholes to the needy people in various communities in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe and Turkey enjoy deep ties spanning the business, religious, social, and political spectrum. It is because of these deep, warm, and cordial relations that the Embassy is working to ensure Zimbabwean people have access to clean and safe water through the boreholes project. There is also an increase in trade relations between the two countries as evidenced by an influx of Zimbabwean traders to Turkey to buy items like clothes for sale. It is envisaged that trade ties will also cascade to agriculture, mining, education, and manufacturing, among others.