Education is Power

Dear Friends, 

Most probably you heard that a devastating earthquake struck Turkey on February 6, causing widespread destruction and loss of life in 11 provinces. We wanted to share one of our students message with you to show you how their lives changed in one night.

"On the night of February 5, I was at my family home in Kahramanmaras where I was on vacation. We spent the night making plans for the next day (6th of February) when I would meet a friend of mine, yes like everyone else, we were in the rush of our daily routine, without knowing what will happen to us next day. 

Unfortunately when it was 4:17 a.m. our daily lives, beautiful neighborhoods, homes, and most painfully, our friends and families whom we thought would never leave us, slipped through our fingers in one and a half minutes. I learnt by experiencing how lives can change so dramatically in such a short moment and how the material aspects of life which are valued more than the lives of people, are so meaningless and temporary.
Patience and gratitude are now in the center of my life. I know that I have to work hard and wait patiently to see that life is good again.

I suffered a lot but I had to stand up. I should be though and resilient. I saw so much pain and sorrow around me and I thought I should be grateful because I was lucky and I said to myself “My family is fine, thanks god”.
During this period, I learned to appreciate life. I should aim to live every moment with my family and friends in the best way as if it was the last moment of our lives. Why? I feel like I have been given a second chance and I should take this chance to build myself up again, to spend my time better, to liberate myself and to love people and life more than ever."

Buldan Foundation recognizes that the earthquake not only caused great material damage and loss of life, but also affected the education of many university students in the region. We believe that education is a fundamental human right, and we want to do our part in supporting the affected university students in their continued education. So, from now on, we decided to give grant to students from eartquake areas. Moreover, we planned a new project called "Rebuild Hope" to provide computers to ttem. By this, we hope to make a tangible impact on their lives and education. These computers will enable them to attend online classes, complete assignments, and access educational resources, regardless of their location or circumstances.

We would like to thank you for your priceless support .

Regards,

Meryem Salman 

On Behalf Of Buldan Foundation Team

Once upon a time, a little girl was born in a small village but the parents were not happy at all and family left the baby to her grandparents. The same thing happened when the second daughter was born. They left him with her grandfather and grandmother. When the third girl was born, they took her with them and moved to another city.

The remaining two daughters were raised by their grandparents. One of the girls worked hard and started Medical School in another country. While she was studying there, her grandmother died. Grandfather called her back because he couldn't take care of the other girl alone. She enrolled in a school in her own country and took her little sister with her. Grandfather was helping them financially, but one day they lost him too. For a while, they continued their lives with the support of their relatives, but then this support was cut off.

The older girl decided to quit school and take care of her sister. But people who believed in the importance of education did not leave them alone and prevented her from leaving school.

Fortunetelly, this fairy tale ends very happily, because of your supports since a few months later, that young girl becomes a medical doctor and will support her little sister who wants to be a doctor like herself. We just wanted to share with great news with you.

11 October 2022 was International Girl Child Day. We asked our students, if you had a magical wish, what would you like to change on this special day? It was actually surprising and sad to still get these answers in the 22nd century. Here are the answers we got;

• I wish they could live freely and exercise their right to education to the fullest.

• If I had a magical wish, I would provide more free world where girls can fulfill their dreams.

• I would like to remove all obstacles for understanding that a woman is a HUMAN, not a man.

• If I had a magical wish, I would like to make everyone realize that there is no difference between boys and girls, to remove all the obligations imposed on girls and to erase all the difficulties that hinder their education.

• I would like to change the fate of child brides.

• I would like to eliminate sexist discourses such as "Man's word, Act like a man, girl like a man".
•  I wish I could wake up to a day without discrimination.

 Despite the determination of the United Nations as one of the most important problems of the world being the empowerment of girls and all the efforts of non-governmental organizations, it is sad that the same problems are still experienced in all countries of the World, but there is no room to be desparate. Our answer to all problems on this subject is education, and we continue to work on with your support. Because supporting the education of girls means educated generations. That is why your support is priceless for us.

Regards,

Meryem Salman

Dear friends,

This year we are very happy as good news started to come with the end of school term.
First, the best ones, we have great news. One of the girls who graduated last year just started to work in our little town as a medical doctor which made us very happy.

Again, this year, a young girl also just graduated from medical school. You may remember her, because we shared her story before, but it was sad one. To remind you the story, we enclosed the video in this report.

By completing her education, she changed not only her life but also her family's life. She had lost her father long time ago. She has one sister and one brother and her mother. Now she has also become a medical doctor and will take the responsibility for her entire family.

We are very happy for her and her family. By donating to our Foundation, you gave a bright future to whole family.
Most probably, you think you supported only one girl; however, this support gave us a chance to change 4 people’s lives.

We are so glad to have you, we hope we always have you.

Best Regards,

Dear All,

We started March this year with great news. We received the biggest donation ever made to the Education is Power project, and we wanted to share this great news with you and thank those unsung heroes with this report.

This donation made by 351 people is very valuable to us, because we can meet the amount of scholarships required for 25 female students' one-year university education with it. 

This donation has another very valuable meaning. Knowing that there are people in other parts of the world who are concerned about women's empowerment, just like us, and seeing that they find our efforts worth supporting, motivated us tremendously.

It increased our hopes for the future. We will continue our work more happily. We sincerely thank these unsung heroes and promise to work harder to be worthy of their trust.

With love and respect, 

Meryem Salman 

On behalf of Buldan Foundation Team, Students and Volunteers