Governor Çiçek: ‘We will not hand over this youth to anyone’

The opening of the ERVA Sports School of Develi Mufti within the scope of the ‘We Exist with Our Virtues (ERVA) Project’ implemented by the Kayseri Governorship was held. Governor Gökmen Çiçek stated, ‘With this project, we set out to express that our youth are not neglected, that we are there for them in every neighborhood, every street, and that we will support them by providing sports opportunities. Please forgive us, we will not hand over this youth to anyone.’ The program, which started with a moment of silence and the singing of the National Anthem, continued with the recitation of the Quran and the opening speech by Develi District Mufti Emin Patan, who said, ‘We have come together on the occasion of the opening of ERVA Sports Schools initiated in Kayseri and its districts under the chairmanship of our esteemed Governor within Develi Mufti. I extend my respects to the entire protocol, our students, and everyone.’ Kayseri Governor Gökmen Çiçek stated, ‘We promised the people of Kayseri that we would open in every neighborhood. In fact, our intention was to do this within the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, in central districts, and to establish clubs in these opened sports schools, and these clubs would continue their activities. Sometimes someone is appointed to a district or province, that appointed person signs good projects, makes good efforts, but when they leave, these projects could be left unsupported. Therefore, we had imagined and set out in such a way that we would do this in cooperation with institutions, delegations, and NGOs without being dependent on any institution or person. These 31 sports schools opened are managed by different institutions, so for them to close, 31 places need to be closed, therefore, there will be such sustainability hopefully. We want to provide our youth with these opportunities, even in humble places, and make licensed students, licensed athletes. With this project, we already have 8,500 licensed athletes, and medals have already started coming. But medals or success do not concern me, what concerns me is that Kayseri’s youth suit sports halls and libraries very well. Sometimes games can be played on our youth by drug dealers through social media. With this project, we set out to express that our youth are not neglected, that we are there for them in every neighborhood, every street, and that we will support them by providing sports opportunities. Please forgive us, we will not hand over this youth to anyone.’ Develi District Governor Yusuf Turan said, ‘You had given the order for this sports school before Ramadan, and we worked until 4 in the morning during Ramadan to fulfill this beautiful order, none of my colleagues lost their excitement, including me. The best part of choosing this building for the school is that this beautiful building has been saved, it has been insulated. Öksüt Mining, Pelin ladies, and Fatih gentlemen, thanks to them, they met every detail we wanted, and in this way, we extended the life of the building. We thank you for taking care of the youth of Kayseri.’ Develi Mayor Adem Şengül said, ‘The ERVA project is really a very valuable project, it encouraged me after I was elected as Mayor, I liked it very much, I know very well that it contributes to our youth not only in sports but also in many other areas of education.’ Pelin Usta Özkayhan, the Environmental, Social, and Governance Director of Öksüt Mining, said, ‘As Öksüt Mining, with our human principle, we aim to be by the side of our society and our people at every step. We sincerely believe in the importance of children and young people of school age acquiring positive habits, being directed towards art and sports, and becoming beneficial individuals to society. We see the project initiated by our esteemed Governor Gökmen Çiçek to raise virtuous children as a future project for our young friends. I would like to express how delighted we are to contribute to this center brought to Develi.’ The program concluded with prayers and ribbon-cutting, marking the opening of the ERVA Sports School of Develi Mufti.