Within the framework of the President of Poland Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria Kaczinska’s visit to Turkey, Mrs. Maria Kaczynska visited our Foundation Headquarters at 15:30, on 23rd of January, 2007. In this visit, she was accompanied by Minister of State Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aydın’s wife Nihal Aydın, the wife of Polish Ambassador in Ankara Mrs. Edyta Michalska, and the wife of the Ambassador of Turkey in Poland Mrs. Fatma Neslihan Tezcan.

The guest delegation was welcomed in front of the Foundation Administration Building by Seğmen groups’ folklore performance. During the show, one of our children put lapel pins made of flowers in Turkish and Polish flag colours (red and white) on the guests’ lapels.

Following the performance, they moved into the the Executive Board Room. Here, the Foundation President Ülay Karakoç gave a welcome speech, in which she briefly introduced the Foundation. Our guest Mrs. Kaczynska, together with one of our children, cut the ribbon of the computer which she brought as a gift for our Foundation. She was presented by the General Chairman, a special hand made china plate with the emblem of the Foundation, by the Foundation President. Afterwards, tea was served and the Foundation’s `Honor Book’ was presented for signatures.

The guest delegation then walked to the Work Training Building, together with Children of the Foundation holding flags of Poland and Turkey and carrying `Welcome’ and `We love you’ signs. They observed the children’s handcrafts performances. Our students presented our guests gifts of their own handcrafts. Mrs. Kaczynska gave gifts such as Polish music CDs to the Seğmen Group. The girls in Handcrafts Training Workshop all received dolls dressed in different folkloric costumes of Poland. It was a delight to see our children so happy and and full of joy.

The next step was a tour around the Wood Working Workshop. The guests observed our children’s work. One of the children presented a flower pot decorations as gifts. The Sports Building was the last facility visited by the guest delegation. Here, a short sports activity was presented for our guests as a performance. Our honorable guest and the delegation that accompanied her then left from the Sports Building.

The guest President’s wife expressed her pleasure for this visit and stated her satisfaction, in emotional and nice words, on how much she liked our Center, how happy and glad she was of her visit, and that she found the level of education very high. She also stated that the Foundation President Ülay Karakoç and her colleagues should be very proud of their performance.

Mrs Edyta Michalska, the wife of the Republic of Poland’s Ambassador, has shown special interest in our Foundation and in mentally handicapped children since her arrival in our country. She is a precious and beloved lady whom we are honored to call `Our Friend’. We thank her, with much gratitude, for proposing that the wife of the President of Poland’s wife visit our Foundation during her stay in Turkey, for giving us the opportunity of meeting her, and for making it possible for us and our children experience this immemorable day.

Our honorable guest Mrs. Maria Kaczynska has captured our hearts with her sensitivity and the interest she showed for our children, and, also, with her modesty and her elegance.