A volunteer team from Turkey took to the road yesterday to renovate destroyed schools in Afrin villages that were liberated from PKK-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists during Operation Olive Branch.

A team of 22 people from the Association for Migrant Rights and Social Cohesion, worked alongside Ankara's Keçiören municipality to rebuild two schools in Afrin's liberated villages, which were destroyed by YPG terrorists.

Speaking at the farewell ceremony that was organized for the team, Mayor Mustafa Ak said that the expert team would work in the villages of Marin and Sijaraz. Ak also said that they believe they will have great success in a short time with the support of the villagers, while adding that schools the terrorists damaged will also be repaired.

"Our biggest desire is to normalize life in the region, and we took the road for that," Ak said, while emphasizing that children are the ones who suffer the most. He added that investments for children such as parks and social service centers would also be done by these expert teams, contributing to the rehabilitation process in the region.

Ak also indicated that the team has people that have expertise in psycho-social support.

Afrin has been a major base of operations for the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and its armed wing, the YPG, since July 2012, when Syria's Bashar Assad regime left the region to the terrorist group without a fight. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) launched Operation Olive Branch with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on Jan. 20 to clear Afrin of the YPG, which poses a threat to Turkey's national security.