Mavi Kalem Sosyal Yardımlaşma ve Dayanışma Derneği Hayata Rengini Kat!
We care about field-based work and localization. We create the dynamics of our workspace by opening local offices and establishing strong communication with local actors and society.
We support the participation of target groups both in defining the need and developing the solution. To this end, we rapidly continue our efforts to strengthen community-based protection structures. We pursue these efforts with volunteers consisting of women, tradesmen and headmen living in Esenyurt, Kocaeli and Fatih regions. We are working with volunteers on child protection, child referrals at risk of protection, gender-based violence and information on COVID-19.
We aim to increase the awareness of the volunteers we work with in our community-based protection efforts with the right information and support, and to them spreading this awareness to their own social circles. We expect volunteers to support raising awareness about child safety and child protection threats and to direct children they see at risk to us so that we can find solutions.
We came together with volunteer women on the issues of children’s rights, child labor, early marriage and their harms. The women gave many examples from their lives and the situations they witnessed in their environment.
“If there is a decision to be taken regarding the child, the child should also be consulted and the decision should be made according to what s/he chooses.”
“When the child works, s/he will be deprived of many rights. It will affect their entire future life. Because the child works with older people. S/he can develop bad habits.”
“Child marriage has a huge impact on a child’s life. She is deprived of her rights and causes her to face many problems in her later life.”
In these months as we structured our work, cases led by community-based protection volunteers began to reach us. Volunteers act as a kind of bridge between the neighborhood and Mavi Kalem by communicating the needs of the field. In our community-based protection efforts, we work with different groups of society to reduce the vulnerability of children.
