Hello
from
My name is Duygu Baydilli and I work in the Construction Section at GIZ. Together with more than 40 colleagues, I advise, review and approve construction projects across the world. I come from Türkiye originally. I grew up in Bucharest, where I spent my school years, and later went on to study construction engineering. After graduating, I worked for private construction companies in Romania on diverse projects – from residential buildings to an organic dairy farm.
In 2017, a friend who was working for GIZ in Türkiye told me about a vacancy in the Construction Section. The idea of implementing construction projects that directly benefit people across the world really fascinated me. Since then, I have been working for GIZ as a construction engineer – first in Türkiye, later in Afghanistan and Pakistan and, for the past two years, in Eschborn.
I am currently responsible for construction projects in countries in the Middle East and East Africa. I often travel to these countries to visit the building sites of projects that are implemented by our local partners and contractors. As the sector is still very male-dominated, I frequently get astonished looks when people see me on the construction sites, particularly when I introduce myself as the chief construction engineer. I’m used to it now, though, and people respect me, which makes me proud.
The aspect of my work that I am most enthusiastic about is that our construction projects improve the living conditions of people living in the partner countries: we provide access to clean drinking water, green energy and modern health and education facilities.
A recent example is a school that we renovated in Türkiye. We installed water dispensers, gave the exterior a fresh coat of paint and built a new playground. That helped make the school an enjoyable place to be for refugee children from Syria and children from the host community. They now live together more harmoniously.
In our construction projects, we combine German standards and local standards, for example with regard to accessibility, fire protection and gender equality. We also place great emphasis on sustainable, durable building materials. Cultural aspects are considered in our planning, too. For instance, I have learned that in Islamic countries, toilets should face away from Mecca – a valuable insight, even for me as someone who was born in Türkiye.
I love creating real added value with our projects: spaces that offer people safety, health and new prospects.
All the best,
Duygu
December 2024