SUPPORT FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES - ESENLER
MULTI-PURPOSE SUPPORT CENTER

The support activities for asylum seekers and refugees initiated by our Foundation in 2002 have gained a new momentum due to the civil war that started in Syria in 2011. People who took refuge in our country due to the civil war were first settled in border cities and then allowed to go to other provinces. Istanbul is the province that hosts the highest number of refugees under temporary protection status among these provinces. Due to the increase in the number of Syrian refugees in Istanbul, it was deemed necessary to open a second support office in 2014 and our Esenler Multi-Purpose Support Center, which provides services only to Syrians with temporary refugee status, was opened in Esenler. In 2023, protection and psycho-social support services were provided to Syrian refugees through our center, and activities were carried out to support their social cohesion. While the effects of the Syrian crisis continued, as a result of the earthquake in Kahramanmaraş and the surrounding provinces in 2023, some of the Syrians living in these provinces were allowed to go to other provinces, and our Center continued all its activities without slowing down, including the earthquake victims who came to Istanbul.

 

In 2023, HRDF Esenler Multi-Purpose Support Center provided services to Syrians living in Istanbul or temporarily migrating to Istanbul from the earthquake zone via face-to-face, telephone and online platforms (Whatsapp, Skype, etc.). In this context, 27,110 counseling sessions were provided to 7,800 Syrian refugees in various fields (psycho-social legal support, social cohesion, etc.) through individual or group interview at the community center in Esenler. In 2023, counseling services were provided to 778 earthquake victim families and cash support was provided to 385 families. The total population of the families provided with cash support is 1,800 people.

 

Esenler Multi-Purpose Support Center organized social cohesion activities in order to improve the adaptation of Syrian refugees to the society they live in and their relations with the host society.

 

Social cohesion activities are carried out by our volunteer supporters as well as a professional team of 30 people in our center. +60 Women's Solidarity Program +60 KADAP program and health seminars were developed and implemented with the support of Nurse Hafize Gönenli Çokar, member of the Board of Directors of the Yarenlik Platform and Dr. Jale Sarıdoğan, Breast Cancer Screenings for women over the age of 30 were carried out in cooperation with Europa Donna (European Breast Cancer Coalition) and Breast Foundation General Coordinator Senior Nurse Violet Aroyo, as in previous years.

 

The activities carried out in 2023 are summarized under the following headings.

 

Social Cohesion Activities

 

Hobby Hour Workshops

 

An average of 20 people participated in the workshops organized to improve the hand skills of refugee women and to support their social lives outside the home. In the workshops, women of different age groups were tried to gain skills such as watercolor, embroidery and simple sculpture making, and some of their products were exhibited at the İBB Cultural Center in Esenler on June 20, Refugees Day. A total of 50 hobby hour workshops were organized in order to provide different hobby gains for Syrian women, and 994 Syrian women participated in the workshops.

 

Games and Hobby Workshops for Children

 

For the purpose of social cohesion, 117 workshops were organized for the children of parents who came to the Center for workshops, aiming to improve their cognitive and manual skills through methods such as marbling paper printing, watercolor painting and group games, and 2,004 children participated in the studies.

 

Rhythm Workshops

 

In the 21 rhythm workshops organized for women, it was aimed that the participants gained the ability to use rhythm and note knowledge apart from the basic knowledge of playing the bendir. As a result of these studies, the participants had the opportunity to present the songs they learned in the workshop with a short concert on June 20, World Refugee Day.

 

Turkish Speaking Club

 

The aim of the Speaking Club, which attracts the most attention within the scope of social cohesion studies, is to improve the basic grammar and speaking practice of male and female clients over the age of 18 with limited Turkish through group work. In the seven-week workshops of the Club, themes such as "doctor visit in the hospital" and "grocery shopping" were discussed, and 480 Syrian refugees participated in 32 workshops.

 

20 June World Refugee Day Event

 

On the occasion of World Refugee Day, an exhibition was held at Esenler Adem Baştürk Cultural Center and the products produced by Syrian and Turkish women in the workshops were exhibited. In the exhibition, women who learned to play the bendir in the Women's Rhythm Group organized a concert. 130 women participated in the World Refugee Day event.

 

8 March International Women's Day Event

 

After the February 6 earthquakes, women came together in workshops aimed at raising awareness and discussing gender equality, as well as hobby workshops aimed at women having a good time "together" within the scope of the activities held for March 8, International Working Women's Day. In this context, 186 Syrian women participated in different workshops.

 

İstanbul Trips

 

Syrian refugees residing in Istanbul have very limited access to the city's culturally important places due to economic and social reasons. The trips aim to encourage them to get to know the historical places of Istanbul closely and to encourage social cohesion. The trips are mostly attended by women and their children. In this context, 388 Syrian refugees participated in 11 trips in 2023. The aforementioned trips were organized as Pera Museum, Cat Museum, Emirgan Grove, Miniatürk, Fire Brigade Museum and Bosphorus Tour activities.

 

Women's Solidarity Group (KADAP)

 

The Program, which has been implemented since 2015, aims to create safe environments where Syrian women can share their positive and negative experiences due to gender and refugee status, to develop skills that will support their empowerment processes, and to reinforce these skills with solidarity. The program contributes to the development of participants' self-confidence and resilience. In 2023, 9 groups of Women's Solidarity Groups were organized. A total of 90 workshops were organized and 1,105 Syrian women participated in the workshops.

 

KADAP Social Cohesion and Coexistence Program

 

The program is implemented with the aim of strengthening peaceful dialogue and social ties between local and refugee women belonging to different cultures. The program also aims to empower women in terms of practical knowledge that they can use in their daily lives, gender equality and women's solidarity. In 2023, a social cohesion program was organized with two groups. 14 workshops were held in two groups and 160 local and Syrian women participated in these workshops.

KADAP Programı Suriyeli Moderatörlere Yönelik Süpervizyon Buluşmaları
KADAP’ta kolaylaştırıcı olarak görev alan Suriyeli mülteci kadınlarla düzenli gerçekleştirilen süpervizyon toplantılarında, ihtiyaç ve beklentileri tartışılmıştır. 32 süpervizyon buluşmasına yirmiyi aşkın Suriyeli moderatör katılmıştır.

 

KADAP Program Supervision Meetings for Syrian Moderators

 

The needs and expectations of the facilitators were discussed in the regular supervision meetings held with Syrian refugee women who work as facilitators in KADAP. More than twenty Syrian moderators participated in 32 supervision meetings.

 

Refugee Women "Protection" Module

 

The aim of the "Protection" program, which consists of two sessions, is to convey Syrian refugee women to their fundamental legal rights in Turkey and to inform them about the official mechanisms they can use when they are exposed to violence. The program has been implemented since 2017 and 575 women participated in 31 workshops held in 2023.

 

Health Seminars

 

Since 2015, under the direction of Dr. İlker Kayı, a faculty member of the Department of Public Health at Koç University, health seminars have been given by the interns of the university in Esenler with an interpreter. 316 people participated in 16 health workshops held in 2023. Some workshops are "gender-specific" to the participants. For example, a seminar on prostate health and cancer for men was organized for male participants.

 

Law Seminars

 

The seminars, which aim to provide information to Syrian refugees about their rights and responsibilities in Turkey, were organized by our legal consultants, and 136 clients participated in 9 seminars. Depending on the changing socio-economic conditions in 2023, issues related to tenants' rights, civil rights for women, as well as "forced" or "voluntary" repatriation to Syria were discussed in law seminars.

 

Women's Solidarity Program Over the Age of 60 (+60 KADAP)

 

Syrian refugees over the age of 60 are one of the groups most severely affected by the war and post-war migration processes in their country. In addition to the social and cultural difficulties they experience after coming to Turkey, psychological and physical health problems related to their advancing age negatively affect their quality of life. In the light of these problems, the aim of the program is to enable clients aged 60 and over to come together with their peers "outside the home" and to encourage them to spend quality time by establishing new social ties.
In the six-week program, in addition to activities that support socialization such as "Hobby Workshop", health-oriented workshops such as "Home Accidents", "Hygiene and Self-Care" and "Physical Exercises That Can Be Done at Home" were held. 441 Syrian women refugees participated in 36 workshops.

 

"Quality Time" Program for Mothers and Children

 

The aims of the program, which was implemented for the first time in 2023, are to support the development of children who cannot go to pre-school education institutions. contribute to the establishment of a healthy communication between parent and child and to create an opportunity for mothers to share their experiences, problems and solutions, to strengthen the awareness of children and mothers on gender equality.

 

The program targeting mothers with children in the 3-6 age group, consists of seven sessions. In 2023, in addition to informative sessions such as "Explaining Sexuality to Children and Body Privacy", "Gender and Child Education", "Home Accidents for Children" and hand skills for mothers such as toy making. 363 women participated in the program.

 

Group Counseling with Psychologists

 

In the group activities (at least one and at most three sessions) organized by psychologists working in the Esenler center, issues such as discrimination experienced by Syrian refugees, peer bullying, the mourning process after the earthquake, communication within the family, and establishing relationships with adolescent children were discussed. A total of 122 Syrian refugees participated in 18 sessions.

 

Social Workers Group Consultancies

 

A total of 821 clients participated in 41 workshops in which social workers working at the center provided information on the rights and responsibilities of Syrian refugees living in Istanbul in Turkey and access to social, health, education and services.