‘’At Halka we decide together as partners – we share our opinions and make the call. There are no bosses. We are the workers and our own bosses’’, says Meryem Neccar. The Syrian woman found out about the cooperative from her neighbour. Halka is a female-led cooperative, found in Izmir in 2020 with the financial support of the European Union and administrated by the World Bank. The cooperative provides cleaning services to households or businesses. But it is also more than that. It is a place where women receive all kind of different trainings and learn new skills. While the women are at trainings or at work, childcare services are also provided. In this way, women don’t need to worry who is going to take care of their children while they are working.
Audiovisual
This video encapsulates the essence of EBSOMED project's journey which had helped for 4 years enhancing business support organisations and business networks in the Southern Neighbourhood. This Reportage is coming as a conclusion highlighting key moments from the final event and key testimonials for the beneficiaries as a reflection of the spirit and achievements of the EBSOMED project.
Foreign nationals make up one-fifth of the students at the Erol Battal Middle School in Istanbul’s Bagcilar district. Sheima al-Huseyni is the third best student in the school. Due to the war, she and her little brother Osama had to flee Syria and move to Türkiye. Thanks to the EU-funded project Promoting Integration of Syrian Kids into Turkish Education System (PIKTES) Sheima and Osama were able to take Turkish language lessons. This helped them to communicate better with their peers and to integrate smoothly into the educational process.
“My goal is to live a better life, open my own store, and own a brand called “Najlaa” to show my products’’, says Najlaa, a Syrian woman who fled to Türkiye. Just like over 1.5 million refugees in Türkiye, she receives a monthly EU cash assistance, which helps her and her family to pay a significant part of their living expenses.
Following the devastating earthquakes that struck the south-eastern Anatolia region on 6 February 2023, Türkiye activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Participating States sent emergency teams, shelter materials, medical devices, medicines, and a medical evacuation plane to help transport the wounded from affected areas to hospitals within the country. EU humanitarian funding helped meet the immediate needs of the people, affected by the disaster such as access to shelter, food, waters, sanitation, and healthcare.
‘No one has the right to control another person’, says Asma Abu Zrar, a Syrian woman who is currently living in Istanbul. She heard about the Women’s Solidarity Foundation (KADAV) from one of her neighbours. The centre’s social services include Turkish language, sewing and handicraft courses. There are also online sessions, which cover various issues such as women’s rights to learn, work, and develop their own character.
“Leaving the house for work— even the feeling of missing my home and my children during work— is exciting for me,” says Halez, a member of the EKİP social cooperative. EKİP brings Syrian and Turkish women together to produce healthy food for the working population in İstanbul’s selected neighbourhoods. Before joining EKİP, Halez had considered the prospect of working to be very unlikely in a large city like İstanbul while taking care of her two small kids.
Meet Hiba, Eslam, Mohammed and Ibrahim – four passionate Syrians living in Turkey and supported by the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), which currently provides financial support to 1.5 million vulnerable refugees in Turkey. Cash assistance helps give people freedom and dignity. They can decide for themselves how to cover essential needs like rent, transport, bills, food, and medicine.
A video published in March 2022 synthesized the dialogue support activities undertaken during 2021.
Thanks to EU support many families in Turkey, like Mohammed’s, receive financial assistance so they can afford the things they need most and ultimately, realise their dreams.
Families of refugee children in Turkey who regularly attend classes receive a monthly cash transfer. Mustafa is one of them. He wants to become an architect. The aim of the CCTE programme is to encourage school enrolment and improve pupils' attendance to support them on their path to a brighter future. When children stop attending school, case workers reach out to their families to find out why, and help them find solutions to keep their kids in school. The CCTE programme was set up under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey to ensure children can go to school.
Also in honour of World Refugee Day, the EU Delegation to Turkey together with the Ministry of National Education launched a video-mapping event in Istanbul, which featured a light and sound show that was projected on to Galata Tower, displaying the digitised artwork of Syrian and Turkish children in the form of an animation film. The event took place on 18 June.
Actions adopted by the Board
The EU-funded Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme helps over 1.7 million refugees in Turkey meet their basic needs. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic some of the most vulnerable refugees are not able to leave their homes; however, thanks to the efforts of humanitarian workers, they are still able to receive their debit cards and meet their daily needs.
“Women are able to do anything. I learned that. I became strong because of it.” says Fatma, a Syrian refugee living in Turkey. The European Union supports projects empowering thousands of refugee women in Turkey. EU humanitarian partners offer psychological support, translation, legal aid, healthcare, education and other services to refugee women. These activities help them to overcome the challenges of displacement.
At least one million refugees and host community members benefit from EU socio-economic development projects under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, in cooperation with the government of Turkey. Projects aim to enable refugees and the host community to build skills in line with labour market needs, to increase employability, and to promote entrepreneurship opportunities.
Municipal infrastructure is an important sector under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, with €380 million allocated to this priority area under the second tranche of the Facility. Projects aim to improve access to and quality of municipal services in the areas of water supply, wastewater and solid waste management in areas most affected by the refugee influx.
With funding from the European Union under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey Syrian health professionals are trained by the World Health Organization (WHO) in support of the Ministry of Health to serve in the Turkish health system and provide health services in Arabic to their fellow nationals. Upon completion of their theoretical and practical training, these professionals are hired by the Ministry of Health in several health centres across the country.
To know more about how the Facility supports Syrian refugee children in Turkey, watch our video below with your Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome browser.
To know more about how the EU supports refugees in Turkey, watch our video below with your Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome browser.