Immediately after the earthquake on August 17, 1999, ENKA foundation joined Turkey's collective effort to provide relief to victims by building schools as quickly as possible. In the province of Adapazarı, which suffered the worst damage in the tremor, a public day school for children in temporary accommodation and a private school for those who had lost their parents in the earthquake were planned, built and opened in record time. The resources of Enka Group were immediately rushed to the disaster area and construction began in earnest in the first week of September 1999. By October 25, Adapazarı had two brand new schools ready to open on the same day. The primary school in the temporary accommodation area of Emirdağ was handed directly over to the Ministry of National Education. On the other hand, the Enka School in Adapazarı was designated a private institution of learning, as ENKA Schools’ second branch. The Enka community is thankful to the residents of Dağdibi village on the outskirts of central Adapazarı, who donated a 6.4-hectare plot of land, on which the Adapazarı Enka School now stands. In its first school year, 1999–2000, 186 students, 64 of whom attending on a boarding basis, enrolled in the new school. It quickly became one of the best schools in the region with 310 students by 2001. All the students, ranging from pre-school through to the eighth grade, receive scholarships every year from Enka Foundation. The Enka School in Adapazarı plans to accept 48 new students each year. The total number of students is expected to be 568 within three years, by which time all levels will have been introduced, including high school education, which will commence next year. The Adapazarı Enka School offers a full range of facilities, including a 10,000-volume library, two computer instruction labs, a swimming pool, an indoor sports hall as well as dormitories and a dining hall. Thousands of trees adorn the ample campus, which is progressively developing, a recent addition being a new running and cycling track. Accommodation and recreational facilities for the staff are also provided. In a multi-ability environment, applied learning is given a special emphasis. Teachers and personnel are given continuous training to ensure the psychological and social development of the students. The entire staff attends routine seminars in the spring and the fall while new teachers undergo a thorough training period before they begin in the classroom. The Enka community is grateful to each of more than 200 individuals and companies from Turkey and abroad, who have generously made donations to Enka Foundation for the development of the Adapazarı Enka School. The Enka Schools in İstanbul and Adapazarı constantly cooperate both in academic and extracurricular pursuits. The two schools jointly organize a sports and arts festival every spring complemented by regular programs to develop the students’ science and foreign language skills. In addition, there is a wide range of scheduled activities for students during the summer months including camping trips and other diverse activities at the İstinye complex. Enka Schools have good community relations and other children in the vicinities of the schools are also welcome in the summer programs.
