This is Our Village…
Even though we live on the other side of the world, that village is our village…
I want to write two stories that crossed paths and feeding each other. Let me start with the second one.
When I moved to United States seven years ago, I wanted to keep my connection with the students who I supported thru some civil society and by myself. Our path crossed with Bridge to Turkiye in this period and I couldn’t believe what they’ve done for the students in Turkey for 17 years, since the day it was founded in 2003. It was even beyond my imagination. I learned that BTF empowered thousands of students, from primary education to university education in all levels, from all regions of Turkey, east, west, north, south, urban, or rural parts of the country. It became one of my favorite civil organizations since then.
My first story is related with the children living in deep east part of Turkey, the province called Ağrı. The story begins in 2009, when a group of Bogazici University Alumnus visited Ağrı Province and the villages around. Ağrı is one of the poorest towns in Turkey, national income per capita being less than $3500, and female literacy rate at 52.3%.
The first thing gets our attention was the school building. It was a small building and has only 2 classrooms. So, the students from 1st to 3rd classes were taking lessons in one, the 4th and 5th were in the other classroom. There were three teachers, all of them were from the cities of western part of Turkey. After a pleasant conversation with teachers and villagers, we talked about to make a school building for the village, called Oğlaklı.
This idea thrilled us all and we built the school in collaboration with an amazing organization. We launched a campaign named “Bir tuğla da sen koy ” (which literally translates to “you put a brick too”), to raise funds through the help of our fellow alumnus of the class of 1981 and many others. The construction of the school building was finalized in September 2009 and ready for a brand new academic semester. It was an initiative that pleased everyone, especially the students and their teachers. After our campaign was published on the school’s journal, the word got around fast and we were overjoyed by the amount of recognition we received more than we ever did. From 2009 to 2016, there were four other elementary schools built through the funds raised by other Bogazici Alumnus, named as follows: Güvendik, Çatali Paşa, Tezeren1, and Tezeren2.
When the children of the schools we funded began graduating, we contemplated on the ways we can help the newly graduates transition into the following steps of their academic future. The question daunted especially for our female graduates. This distinction is important for there is a higher chance of an uneducated young school girl being wedded in a small villages as such.
Me and my fellow alumnus reunited to open up a scholarship fund for the graduates of our very own Bosphorus Middle School, which would help them continue their studies in a high school. The fund will primarily be used for transportation from their location to that of the school, provision of test prep books for university placement exam and provide financial aid to those who enrolls in a university. So far, we have successfully helped 11 girls receive higher education. We keep encouraging them and following their success. They became a role model for the younger sisters who continue their education in the village.
If I go back to the second story, I found out by coincidence that BTF helped the fundraising process of the construction of the Tezeren school (the school mentioned previously). It turns out that our organization and BTF had already been acquainted and had their paths crossed to fund and support quality education. We hosted our first fundraising event in February 12th, 2017, together my schoolmate Tendü Yogurtcu. Through the funds collected, we donated books, stationary supplies, science kits, boots and coats to these classrooms. In addition, we also secured college scholarships for five graduates. Hearing about their enrollment to a university was beyond gratifying to us.
Every year on our birthdays, we hosted fundraisings for the same cause on our social media platforms. We have so far supported four female college students with this way. Thus, we believe that even if we are on the other side of the world, we formed a friendship bridge with all of the four villages we funded.
Due to the period of Covid-19, we have provided electronic supplies to our students, to prevent the reduction of school participation, particularly among female students.
Our biggest dream is to see one of the students we helped get accepted to our alma mater Bosphorus University.
Last word:
To fund education is one of the greatest civic duties one can undertake. Doing so especially in underprivileged rural towns is vitally important, even it can be said to be equivalent to saving life.
Bridge to Turkiye Friends of Ağrı Children
