Some 1,200 schoolchildren returned to the only education facility on a remote island in Pakistan thanks to Turkey’s efforts. Pakistan’s naval chief Adm. Zafar Mahmood Abbasi on Tuesday inaugurated the school on Baba Island off Karachi’s coast. It was refurbished by the state-run Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and Navy League, an association of retired Pakistani naval officers.

TİKA’s Karachi coordinator Ibrahim Katırcı and Navy League President retired Cmd. Tajuddin Najmi also attended the ceremony. Students sat in the brightly painted classrooms ready to start the new school day.

The island comprises a number of fishing villages with primitive health and education facilities.

Katırcı said TİKA has undertaken several projects in Pakistan to improve the education and living standards of underprivileged communities. The state aid agency has nearly completed two projects with the Pakistan Navy in the coastal districts of Gwadar and Ormara. They include building playgrounds and providing transportation for daily school commutes.