Dear donors,
Boy, have we quite the news for you! We spent the past two weeks visiting our projects in Turkey and have uncovered beautiful stories, photos and successes. TPF teamed up with UNICEF Ambassador and Founder of WomenOne, Dayle Haddon on this trip. All of the projects we visited pertained to women empowerment – we feel the bottom line to gender equality is access to opportunity. So that’s where we’re investing! Click here to read and watch our pre-trip post.
In Istanbul, we visited a grantee partner that provides scholarships to young girls, a human rights organization that raises awareness, a center that provides literacy training to adult women and an organization that teaches women life skills to become financially independent. Click here to read our post about our visit in Istanbul.
While we were in Trabzon (in the north, along the Black Sea), we heard the phenomenal story of an illiterate entrepreneur who didn’t let her lack of opportunities stand in the way of success. Read her story here.
We visited Van (in the southeast, bordering Iran), and met with young girls who have started working, as early as 14, to support their entire families. Read about the kilim weavers who are our role models here.
TPF travelled to Diyarbakir (also in the southeast) to hear the stories of women, young and old, who have overcome domestic violence through one of our grantee partner’s meetings.
Lastly, we met with young refugees from Syria, in the southern city of Hatay, who have been denied access to camps because it is over capacity. These young girls desperately want an education. Stay tuned for blog posts on Diyarbakir and Hatay.
We’ve been keeping busy! Stay up to date with TPF’s work on gender equality by following #womenonamission on Twitter and following our blog posts!
Thank you so very much for your donation – without you, this work would be impossible!
All the best,
Melis
It was truly a happy new year for the students at Yuzuncu Yil University in Van. On the 9th of November, 2012, the newly built girls dorm had its opening ceremony. Shortly after, students began to move in, making the dorm their home.
The 192 student capacity dorm comprises of 48 rooms, 4 beds and 1 bath in each. The building also has study rooms for the girls to work in a quieter environment.
Women and girls in eastern Turkey are often not given the opportunity to succeed. They make up a small portion of the labor force and tend to obtain far less education. The girls that will live in the newly built dorm will have the opportunity to stand as role models for their peers. They have been provided with a safe environment that will allow them to flourish and better their community.
Prior to the earthquake, the university which comprises of 24,000 students only had the capacity of housing 2,800 in dorms. With the final goal of providing 14,000 students a dorm, the fundraising continues.
We thank you again for your generous donation!
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It only took minutes from the time that the earth shook, people ran for safety and buildings started to crumble in Van for TPF to jump into action. And you, the donor, responded. Thank you.
In a short period of time, we raised $405,168 to help rebuild the city of Van. These funds were dispersed among three stages of aid: Relief Phase, Reconstruction Phase and Rebuilding Phase. (see a breakdown of funds dispersed below). With many, many thanks to the donor, we have been able to fund 12 different projects in Van, all with the same initiative: bringing life back to Van.
Relief Phase ($149,972) TPF Grantee partners worked to provide immediate aid and support to the victims following the earthquake. Interventions included temporary housing, food, clothes and equipment for rescue efforts.KIZILAY ($91,500), AKUT ($46,472), VAKAD ($12,000)
Reconstruction Phase ($101,600) Following the relief phase, grantee partners supported communities to rebuild infrastructure destroyed by the disaster.CYDD ($50,000) , HADD ($20,000), TEGV ($30,000 ), VAKAD ($1,600)
Rehabilitation/Rebuilding ($141,918) Support was provided to grantee partners to gauge the long-term needs of those affected by the disaster with the goal of supporting projects that will contribute to longer term recovery and re-building of the communities.ACEV ($50,000), KA-MER ($20,000), KEDV ($20,000), TEV ($33,000 ), MAG VAKFI ($13,918.06)
As Van is a city that was already dealing with hard economic conditions before the earthquake, the recovery has not been swift. Van still needs help reconstructing itself. Be it hospitals, grocery stores or schools, the city has a long way to go. Immediate aid is being requested by students like Semra. Semra is a student at Van Yüzüncü Yl University. After last year’s earthquake demolished all the buildings of the university, she has nowhere to live while studying. She is calling you for help.
Your donation will help build a dormitory building for 192 students. We envision a dorm that will contain 48 rooms each accommodating 4 students with bathroom and toilet.
This Wednesday, Oct. 17th, Global Giving is matching donations at 30% up to $1000/donor. Increase the impact of your donation and donate this Wednesday.
The total cost per room is $8,187.
The total cost of the building is $393,004 .
$135,000 is still needed.
Donors are welcomed to fund one or multiple dormitory rooms or donate smaller amounts. Unless requested otherwise the name of the donors will be listed on a wall of the building.
Any amount will make a difference in a student's life.
