This old school building has been empty and neglected for many years, but the village headman of Belen village and the Society would like it to fulfill a useful purpose again.
Belen is at the top of the Gavur Yolu, a well-built pilgrim road leading the ole old churches of the Massikytos mountains.
The old stone houses of this tiny village are too small to convert to a pension. The village is also very short of water – the new, promised pipeline is not yet complete – and it’s difficult to run a pension with no showers! Trekkers get a welcome, tea and snacks from the forestry firewatchers and the villagers, but the only place they can sleep is in the open air on the roof of one of the houses.
The school is in an ideal place – about 500m from the village, on open fields and close to a large well. If we can repair and refurbish the school, we could use it as accommodation and a tiny village shop. The village women would cook breakfasts and evening meals for visitors. An ideal solution for everyone.
We even have a volunteer group who could do some of the building work, but we don’t have money for materials and specialist workmen. Does anyone have ideas for fundraising?
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