{"id":156661,"date":"2026-01-30T15:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/156661\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T15:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:40:10","slug":"berkeley-teen-helps-fund-childrens-library-for-families-in-turkey-displaced-by-2023-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/156661\/","title":{"rendered":"Berkeley teen helps fund children’s library for families in Turkey displaced by 2023 earthquake"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Ayla, her grandmother Sema Altan, and teacher Ferhat Budak pose in front of the library bookshelves she helped create in Izmir, Turkey\u2019s third-largest city. Courtesy: Basak Altan<\/p>\n

Ayla Altan-Schirmer and her mother were sorting through boxes in the basement of their Berkeley home when they came across her old dolls and toys.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ayla, who had overheard her mother talking to relatives about the devastation back home in Turkey following the 2023 earthquake<\/a>, which displaced millions, decided to donate her items so that impacted children had something to play with.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom was calling a lot of people to check in and make sure that our family was safe. But what about everybody else in Turkey that doesn\u2019t have that kind of protection?\u201d Ayla, 14, told Berkeleyside.<\/p>\n

Her gesture \u201csnowballed,\u201d she said, into a community effort, with relatives and community members in Izmir, Turkey\u2019s third-largest city, contributing books and other materials. What began as one bookcase led to the creation of a small children\u2019s library. Local municipal officials took notice and decided to expand the project into a larger permanent space, which is expected to open in the spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople were inspired by the small little gesture, and then it just became a whole big thing with people donating more books. It happened so fast,\u201d Ayla said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her mother, Basak Altan, grew up in Izmir before moving to Berkeley about 25 years ago and becoming an American citizen. Their family founded the nonprofit Berkeley Turkish School, which offered children cultural enrichment activities. It closed in 2024.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ayla\u2019s family visits Turkey every year, where she said she\u2019s seen the impacts of the earthquake and years of military conflict \u2014\u00a0more than 40,000 people have died in Turkey in the past 40 years<\/a> as a result of armed struggle between the government and Kurdish independence fighters. Many families displaced by the fighting and earthquake have moved to Izmir in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of kids and families who lost homes, and they don\u2019t have much,\u201d Altan said. \u201cEven though she was born and grew up here in Berkeley, there\u2019s always been a connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The library in Izmir is used each week as a gathering and learning space, where local children can read and play. This past summer, the family visited the library for the first time, and the children there had prepared a song to express their gratitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not expecting this adorable crowd of kids,\u201d Ayla said. \u201cI walked in, and I couldn\u2019t stop smiling because everyone was sharing books and stories. I saw my dolls and (thought) \u2018Oh my goodness, I haven\u2019t seen these in so long.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Ayla and her grandmother visited the library during story time. Courtesy: Basak Altan<\/p>\n

She said the library space has an open area where kids can \u201cjust play around and be themselves.\u201d Many of the children there only spoke Arabic rather than Turkish, but happily engaged in the theatrical storytime, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A local theatre arts teacher, Ferhat Altinordu, leads weekly storytelling workshops, where kids act out stories to help their language skills and build confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a storyteller, and every week I tell different stories. Thanks to the storybooks in our bookcase, my own collection of stories has also continued to grow,\u201d Altinordu said in a translated email to Ayla\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

Ayla is fundraising through the nonprofit Bridge to Turkey Fund<\/a> and aims to raise $5,000 by March to support the expansion and movement of the library space. Altinordu said the library \u201cwill come to life\u201d in a larger building owned by the \u0130zmir Metropolitan Municipality.<\/p>\n

\u201cBerkeley can help even with the smallest donations,\u201d Ayla said, adding that every contribution \u201cgoes directly to the kids\u201d and the local community to buy books, science materials, and art supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur children have had the opportunity to read books in different genres. Parents also borrow and read the books they choose,\u201d Altinordu said in their message.<\/p>\n

Ayla\u2019s family said Berkeley community members have helped to inspire their charity work and love of literature. Ayla maintains a little free library in front of their home that she built with her father during the height of the pandemic. People have left books, CDs, and sometimes little toys.<\/p>\n

Ayla often sees people on their way to a nearby BART station interact with the little library outside her window. She said there aren\u2019t many in the neighborhood, so they decorate the nook during the holidays to make it more eye-catching.<\/p>\n

\u201cBooks don\u2019t just belong to one person; they travel through other people and friends and family to connect us,\u201d Ayla said.<\/p>\n

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