Sabancı Foundation and Sabancı Group Build 6th School in Hatay

The Sabancı Foundation, which has been working continuously to heal the wounds of the earthquake since day one, has established its sixth school in Hatay with financial support from Ageas, bringing the Aksigorta-AgeSA Special Education Vocational School to the Kırıkhan district. The school, which aims to prepare students with mild intellectual disabilities or autism for working life and employment, welcomed its first students in the second semester of the 2025-2026 academic year.

Following the 6 February 2023 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, the Sabancı Foundation and Sabancı Group companies have continued support efforts in the region, contributing to lasting recovery in Hatay through education investments. The opening ceremony was held for the sixth school brought to Hatay by the Sabancı Foundation, funded by donations from Sabancı Group companies Aksigorta, AgeSA, and Ageas, the foreign partner of Medisa.

The opening ceremony was attended by Hatay Governor Mustafa Masatlı, Kırıkhan District Governor Ayhan Akpay, Hatay Provincial Director of National Education Dr. Harun Tüysüz, Sabancı Foundation General Director Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, Aksigorta-AgeSA-Medisa Human Resources, Culture and Sustainability Deputy General Manager Burak Yüzgül, as well as students, teachers and parents. Activities were organized for students to enjoy during the opening program.

Special education preparing for working life and employment
The school, which admitted its first students in the second semester of the 2025-2026 academic year, now has 30 secondary-level students enrolled. The Hatay-Kırıkhan Aksigorta-AgeSA Special Education Vocational School, which is the first special education vocational school in Hatay established by the Sabancı Foundation and Sabancı Group companies with financial support from Ageas, aims to strengthen daily living skills and vocational competencies of students with mild intellectual disabilities or autism through education geared toward preparing them for working life. Upon graduation, the school aims to support their independent living through the Special Education Vocational Diploma they receive.

Hatay Governor Mustafa Masatlı said: "We have not forgotten the 6 February earthquakes, which are etched in our memory as the disaster of centuries. Following these earthquakes, we are rebuilding not just buildings in Hatay, but entire lives. Without question, education is one of the strongest foundations of this process. Under the state-nation hand-in-hand approach, we are conducting a major mobilization in education within the framework of the Disaster Hatay Model implemented under our governorship's coordination. First, we brought 927 educational institutions through maintenance and repairs and reunited them with our children, completing strengthening efforts for 145 schools. In place of the 210 schools destroyed in the earthquakes, we have constructed 225 new, much more modern, safe and well-equipped educational institutions within just three years, providing Hatay with 2,506 new classrooms. The Kırıkhan Aksigorta-Agesa Special Education Vocational School whose opening we are holding today is one of the most concrete examples of this major education mobilization and Hatay's rebirth from the ashes. We believe that investment in people is the most valuable investment. We view education as the most powerful element in building the future. I thank the Sabancı Foundation above all, as well as the officials from Aksigorta and AgeSA, for their efforts in bringing this meaningful education investment to Hatay. Growing through education and strengthened by hope, our Hatay will continue to move forward into the future with confidence."

Sabancı Foundation General Director Nevgül Bilsel Safkan said: "We have not forgotten the 6 February earthquake. Following the earthquake, we focused on meeting immediate needs and carried out work in the region. But we know that commemorating this pain also means increasing our responsibility. When evaluating what we could do on a lasting basis, we recognized that one of the greatest needs was the uninterrupted continuation of educational activities, and so we set out on this path. In line with this, we kept our promise of 'Three Schools for Hatay in Three Months' and completed three schools in record time. Following that, we continued our education investments and brought two more schools. Today in Kırıkhan, we are proud to reach six schools brought to Hatay with the opening of the Aksigorta-AgeSA Special Education Vocational School, funded by donations from our Group companies Aksigorta, AgeSA, and Medisa's foreign partners Ageas. This school is our first special education vocational school in Hatay. In building a school here, we also aim to build life, hope, confidence and future together. Education is the most powerful key to participation in life and independence for every individual. With this school, we aim to open a path where young people with mild intellectual disabilities can gain a profession and direct their own lives. We want young people to be productive, independent and able to participate more strongly in society. We believe this school will be a hope-filled beginning toward independence for its students and their families, and we wish it to be beneficial to our country, to education and to Hatay."

Aksigorta-AgeSA-Medisa Human Resources, Culture and Sustainability Deputy General Manager Burak Yüzgül said: "In Hatay, one of the regions most affected by the earthquake, we have implemented many projects since day one to help the region's people get back on their feet. From the first moments of the earthquake, our Belgian partner Ageas, with whom we have maintained a partnership since 2010, mobilized to support the region. We are very pleased and proud to bring this highly meaningful project to life with the funding we received from Ageas and the strong guidance of the Sabancı Foundation in the area of educational equity. We believe that every child's access to quality education is a fundamental right. With the Aksigorta-AgeSA Special Education Vocational School, we aim to create an inclusive learning environment where our children with special needs can discover their own potential and feel safe and valued. We truly believe that the education model we provide here will contribute not only to our children's academic development, but also to their daily living skills, self-confidence and more independent participation in life. As Aksigorta, AgeSA and Medisa, we place social benefit at the center of our work, and we wish that this step we are taking today will bring hope and confidence to our children's futures."