Ankara Charity Plans Dedicated Town for Leukemic Children and Their Families

A Turkish foundation supporting children with leukemia is developing an ambitious plan to build a self-contained town where patients and their families can live during treatment. The Ankara Foundation of Children with Leukemia (LOSEV) has already completed architectural designs for the proposed community.

Foundation coordinator Hulya Unver said many affected families have low incomes and face serious hardships during the lengthy treatment period. LOSEV currently runs workshops employing mothers of leukemic children and offers interest-free health loans to families in need.

The planned town would include a hospital, blood bank, residential housing, a school, library, cultural center, theater, shopping center, workshops, and organic farming areas. The goal is to keep children integrated in normal daily life rather than isolated for medical reasons.

LOSEV hopes to build the first such town in Ankara, with a second planned for the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. Founded in 1998 as a nonprofit NGO, LOSEV provides financial, educational, emotional, and medical support to children with leukemia and chronic blood disorders.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in July 2006, in its own words.