


The story of Taiwan Reyhanli Centre 1
I, too can help
The Syrian civil war has been ongoing for years, and it has no sign of stopping.
According to the United Nations, the war resulted in 6.8 million refugees, and 4 million of them stayed within the border of Turkey, which has been bothering the locals of Turkey.
The refugees have caused a lot of social issues in Turkey, and seeing the rising frustration towards the refugees, a Taiwanese scholar Chen-Yu Chiu, who teaches in Turkey’s Ankara Bilkent University decided to lend a hand.

The story of Taiwan Reyhanli Centre 2
Wicked Problems
Trying to solve the refugees' problems, Chen-Yu Chiu decided to start with his expertise which is architecture, and build a shelter for the refugees. He came to Reyhanli, the border of Turkey and Syria, and discussed the shelter issues with the mayor.
It's not an easy task to suggest building shelters. Chen-Yu Chiu spent five years finding locations, designing, and discussing with the past four mayors. There were multiple hurdles during the planning - the design of the building, the location, how it is used, and most importantly the source of the funds. With these issues, it seems like an impossible task to build The Taiwan Reyhanli Center.

The story of Taiwan Reyhanli Centre 3
Help from Taiwan
During 2020, Chen-Yu Chiu got in touch with Taiwan’s crowdfunding. With the help of Lin Hwai-Min and director Wu Nien-Jen, the first round of the fund raising received generous support from over 5,000 people. The Taiwan Reyhanli Center has finally completed.

The story of Taiwan Reyhanli Centre 4
One more step towards success - sustainable motor
With the housing being built, the refugees finally have roofs under their heads. But what comes next is to keep the center sustainable. Having concrete walls and roofs are not enough, Chen-Yu Chiu knows that the project has not been completed yet.
As an architect, Chen-Yu Chiu has thought of the sustainable issues. Through his design sketches, it shows that the collecting system, solar power systems, and other sustainable systems were clearly planned out. Chen-Yu Chiu's vision of the world center is just missing one step.
In 2022, he started the second round of crowdfunding, hoping to find support for his idea of the sustainable motor for the center.
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