Transform a marginalized adolescent girl’s life through the gift of education in rural Turkey!
Dear Supporter:
Chapter IV paragraph 4.2 of the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development states: "Education is one of the most important means of empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process. Despite notable efforts by many countries around the globe that have appreciably expanded access to basic education, there are approximately 960 million illiterate adults in the world, of whom two-thirds are women. There are 130 million children who are not enrolled in primary school and 70 per cent of them are girls.”
As in many parts of the world, girls in Turkey still face obstacles to education that boys do not. Girls comprise approximately 72 percent of all unschooled children in Turkey. Your support helps Bridge to Turkiye Fund (BTF) in contributing to the progress of bridging the gender gap by providing scholarships for marginalized young girls from rural regions of Turkey. Access to education is a basic human right. Education is a significant factor in reducing poverty and a key to improving quality of life for girls and young women, communities, and countries.
Did you know that for just $45 per month, you can give the gift of education to a child in secondary education in Turkey?
In this update, we are happy to share with you a personal letter we received from one of BTF’s scholarship recipients, Dilek who is a 5th grade student from Erzurum. The letter below is roughly translated as follows:
To My Dear Second Family Who Supports Me!
Although I have never met anyone of you, I love you dearly. Your support has really made me very happy.
My seven siblings and I have spent difficult days since my mom passed away. We are just recovering. Your support came right after those gloomy days. That's why I feel so lucky and happy. I am able to meet my basic needs and buy tests and books with the scholarship you have given me. I feel less of a burden on my father, because I can buy the books I need on my own. Now, I am also more interested in reading books. I have more interest in getting an education. I will do my best to work hard not to waste the support of my father, my siblings, my elderly sisters, and yours. With your support, I'm trying harder each new day because I know I have two families. I am proud of them both. With the strength from God and your support, I will try not to waste your efforts. As I conclude my letter, I hope that you will never forget that I love you all…I hope the day will come and you will see me as a proud teacher. When that day arrives you will have a daughter who will always love and who will never forget you. You have a daughter in Erzurum Karacoban who remembers you in her every prayer. May God's love be with you!
Sincerely,
Your Loving Daughter,
DILEK
********************************************
Please continue to help support the work of BTF and make a difference in the life of a young girl.
Thanks, as always, for your support!
Thank you very much for your continuous support to Boots4Kids.
We were able to send 114 boots with the donations we received from our Global Giving campaign last year.
We hope that your thoughtful donations will help us to send more this year. Winter is still in effect in the eastern part of Turkey and we keep supplying boots to the demanding schools.
Attached are some pictures that we received from the field during the distributions of the winter boots recently.
Also please help us to spread the word among your circles. Cost of a pair of boots is about $15 and every dollar counts.
Thank you very much for keeping little feet warm!
Dear Supporter:
2012 has been quite a year for the Medine Memi Memorial Girls’ Empowerment Scholarships Project, thanks to the staunch support and dedication from people like you. We are excited and proud to report that we’ve have been able to expand the program to include 16 more academically gifted but economically disadvantaged young women and girls from various rural regions of Turkey. This brings the total scholarships paid so far to nearly $22,000. Of the 16 new scholars supported by this program, 13 are university students who were carefully selected by the Association for Supporting Contemporary Life (Çagdas Yasam Destekleme Dernegi [CYDD]) for “BIR ISIK DA SIZ YAKIN.” BTF is proud to support CYDD as this project aims to provide quality education to young women, who face economic hardship, to continue with their university education and to give them the opportunity to become leaders in their communities in Turkey.
By the end of 2012, we awarded 17 scholarships to college students and 36 to girls in elementary and high school. The average annual scholarships award ranged from $360 to $1080 per student. Our goal is to raise the number of students supported by this program to 50 in 2013. We are excited to also share that one of our students in this program will be graduating this year with a law degree and aspires to be a prosecuting attorney in Turkey. Two of our high school graduates got accepted to dentistry and law schools based on their impressively high scores earned in the university entrance exams.
Bridge to Turkiye Fund (BTF) believes that education for girls is one of the best strategies for protecting girls against violence, abuse, child marriage, and discrimination. Thus, BTF continues its commitment to helping young girls build a better future for themselves and their families, communities, and the World. Together, we can make meaningful and measurable differences in the lives of girls by giving them equal access to education (a fundamental right) to improve their chances to succeed and to raise the next generation of leaders and philanthropists who will continue BTF’s mission to educate girls.
In the coming year, we hope you will consider renewing your support with a tax-deductible contribution to the Medine Memi Girls’ Empowerment Scholarships by donating at the GlobalGiving project page. BTF will direct 100% of your donations to eligible young girls who are supported by this program.
We are very grateful to have you in our community. On behalf of BTF and our young scholars, we thank you and wish you and your families all the best in 2013.
Bridge to Türkiye Fund
Links:
