Garbage workers create a library of discarded books.

Turkey is going through a crisis after the terrible earthquake that struck several regions of the country and Syria. Humanitarian aid is coming from everywhere. However, with each passing hour, it is more difficult to try to find more victims or even be able to recover the bodies.

However, the good news is always worth sharing and celebrating, like the great story of some garbage collectors who decided to turn other people’s waste into a real treasures.

These cleaning workers had the initiative to open a place to give a second chance to thousands of books thrown away and were collected to be used again.

Few know the great value that a book has because, in addition to being a compilation of printed or digital sheets, it can also tell a story or teach a certain learning. It is an incredible tool to transport us to imaginary worlds or allow us to reach our goals thanks to education.

Everything was born thanks to the initiative of Serhat Baytemur, a young collector who always dreamed of having his own library. When he saw the number of books thrown away, he began to rethink what could be an alternative to save them from a sad ending.

As of today, and with the contribution of other volunteers, it was possible to create a library with more than 25 thousand titles divided into more than 17 categories, such as novels, short stories, encyclopedias, classics, art, science, magazines, or newspapers.

Initially, it was about collecting any book found in a boat or lying on the street. The library started with just 3,500 books, but donations are now accepted.

Finding a suitable place to house the library was an almost impossible mission. At first, the janitors stored the books in a former brickyard available at the city’s sanitation department headquarters.

Although only workers and their families could use the facilities, over time and seeing the increase in books and people’s interest, it was decided to open the library to the public.

The city government learned about the initiative and hired a full-time employee to help them run it. Recycling doesn’t end there, as the structure is made from recycled materials in the trash and provides books to the community.

Its success has not ended there, as now the workers involved turned a garbage truck into a small mobile library intending to take their books to other nearby schools.