Mayor Kırok: “Such Initiatives Should Exist in Every School”
İçim Çağıner Kavuklu: The Joy of Collaborative Production Begins in Çatalköy
The “Çatalköy Primary School Little Chefs Kitchen,” implemented with the support of the Tangül-Ünal Çağıner Children’s Aid Foundation at Çatalköy Primary School, which was established last year by the Çatalköy-Esentepe Municipality, was opened with a ceremony. At the opening, İçim Çağıner Kavuklu, on behalf of the foundation, and Çatalköy-Esentepe Mayor Ceyhun Kırok made statements. Drawing attention to the importance of the project, the officials stated that such kitchens are not found in every school and expressed their hope that similar initiatives would become widespread. Speaking at the opening, Mayor Ceyhun Kırok emphasized that such kitchens are not found in every school and stressed the great importance of children receiving culinary education at an early age. Kırok said, “Hopefully, such initiatives will be implemented in every school. We are very happy that this has taken place in Çatalköy.”
Kırok also stated that a similar culinary education program is planned for students at the school under construction in Esentepe, and that these projects significantly contribute to children’s daily life skills. President Kırok pointed out that the kitchen environment involves heat, fire, and tools that must be used carefully, and that children will be consciously trained in these areas and warned to be careful. President Kırok stated that İçim Çağıner Kavuklu is a primary school teacher, and that recipes prepared by retired teacher Nurten Emiroğlu will be compiled into a cookbook and distributed to students.
It was stated that this project aims not only to teach cooking skills but also to impart the unique Cypriot culinary culture to students. It was also noted that it will contribute to students and their families from different countries studying in the region becoming familiar with the local culinary culture. At the end of the statement, Mayor Kırok thanked the foundation, especially İçim Kavuklu Çağıner and Dimağ Çağıner, for their support of the project, emphasizing the hope that the municipality-foundation cooperation would continue hand in hand in the future.
İçim Çağıner Kavuklu: The Joy of Creating Together Begins in Çatalköy
Speaking at the opening, İçim Çağıner Kavuklu stated that they were happy to support the project as the Tangül-Ünal Çağıner Children’s Aid Foundation.
Emphasizing that access to information has become easier in the digitalized world, but that the education system needs to transform accordingly, Çağıner drew attention to the importance of raising generations who can empathize, have high self-confidence, and find joy in creating. Stating that this area is not just a kitchen, Çağıner Kavuklu said that children will experience the joy of creating and sharing together here. Reminding everyone that she herself was a primary school teacher and mentioning the lasting impact retired teacher Nurten Emiroğlu had on their lives, Çağıner stated that the goal of this project was to start with Çatalköy Primary School and spread to all schools. She also emphasized the need to reintroduce home economics lessons.