The "Our House" (Evimiz) project in the city of Izmir in Turkey was one of the Soroptimist International "Projects of Excellence" highlighted in the 2011 Global Impact Report. This week’s SoroptiVoice blog is by Project Co-ordinator Yildiz Belger, a member of President of Goztepe Soroptimist Club since 1979, formerly Club President, Governor of SI/Turkey and SIE IGU Coordinator. Translation/editing by Lale Ersin, Program Director, SI Goztepe.

In Turkey the most vulnerable women and young girls are the ones in large families who relocate to big urban centers from rural villages in the east. They are uneducated, married early in their life and usually face domestic violence. Therefore our club gives extra importance to the education of girls and their mothers. We learned through “Evimiz” Project, one very important fact – help the children, that way you can approach the mothers, when you educate the mothers you improve the life of the whole family!

The "Our House" (Evimiz) project was initiated in 2009 in cooperation with a group of voluntary people from the Aegean University.  This initiative has now attained a legal basis through the active and wide-scale participation of the “Gundogdu Association for the Support of Contemporary Living”.  With this reinforced infrastructure, the project has recorded significant developments especially during the second half of 2012 that serve its objectives.

Two neighborhoods located within the boundaries of the province of Bornova – namely “Mevlana” and “Yunus Emre” were created and shaped up as a result of immigration. Most of the residents in these two neighborhoods migrated into the city of Izmir from the rural areas of the eastern and south-eastern Anatolian Regions.

Residents of both neighborhoods belong to low socio-economic and culturally rural population groups who are strongly bonded to their habits, behavioral routines, and customs.  Children have minimal access to education; women are housewives with no added value contribution to the welfare of the family and are illiterate and/or uneducated.

Providing scholarships (financial support) for 20 clever industrious competent and motivated children constituted the baby steps of the project at its launching stage. Through this path interest, confidence and trust were established with the families of the scholarship awardees.  The next step followed.  A house was rented, revamped, furnished, decorated and equipped with an approach to re-shape it into a ‘Community Center’ for the children and their families.

The project pursued and served-and continues to serve- two objectives:

1.        To provide financial assistance for the education of qualified children whose families cannot afford education due to their low-income levels in order to expand their awareness, understanding and vision of what difference education brings into their lives and their status in living.  Furthermore, the project also encompasses the families (which are strongly and stubbornly committed to their background bonds and customs) within this process.  The mothers and fathers are incorporated into the new community and the society in their urban environs. 

2.        To motivate and set a bench-mark for other Non Governmental Organizations to initiate and establish similar community centers and to provide leadership and consultancy for such organizations based on our experience.  In order words the target is to increase the number of ‘Our House’s. 

As the project flourished, success rate among the children continuously showed an increasing trend.  Their cultural levels as well as their awareness expanded.  The families realized the impacts of these initiatives.  They gradually started to understand the importance of education.  The brothers and sister who had dropped their schooling returned to their schools.  The mothers were awakened to see the importance of having a vocation and contributing to the family income.  The fathers were highly impressed with the newly evolving family profile.

The number of scholarships given increased to 60.  Three of our students passed the entrance exams to attend specialized high schools.  Three other students passed the university entrance exams and continue their higher education.

The top floor of the "Our House" building is set up as a workshop.  Vocational courses for larger numbers of women are realized at this workshop.

A second house was inaugurated at the ‘Esrefpasa’ district of Izmir. The same activities are also carried on at this house.  Some of the services made available at Our House are:

• Private lessons
• Hobby courses
• Sportive activity courses such as swimming, ice skating
• Entertaining science and math laboratory works
• Reading sessions
• Career days
• Conferences on health,  nutrition, hygiene for the mothers
• Vocational courses for mothers such as knitting, sewing, jewelry making
• Literacy courses
• After-School Study Hours for students
• Cultural trips for the students and their mothers.

The Lions have now started the initiative to establish a similar house at the province of Karsiyaka.  We are wishful that Soroptimists, forming groups, shall carry this project forward in their respective areas. We always volunteer our assistance, experience and know-how.

Read more about the Projects of Excellence, SI projects that have proved particularly effective in educating, empowering and enabling women and girls, highlighted in the Global Impact Report 2011.

Images (top to bottom): 
Ante-natal information session on pregnancy and childbirth
Volunteer brothers and sisters take a coffee break during study hour
Women on a cultural excursion – getting to know the city
An inter-city trip to Canakkale (Dardanelles)