Mavi Kalem Sosyal Yardımlaşma ve Dayanışma Derneği Hayata Rengini Kat!
Our Collaborative Work with Eurasian Turkish Associations Federation
In 2021, one of our significant collaborations was established with the Eurasian Turkish Associations Federation.
The Eurasian Turkish Associations Federation gathers 11 non-governmental organizations founded by refugees from Afghanistan and Turkic Republics under the same roof. These non-governmental organizations work in collaboration under the same federation.
Concerning our collaboration with the federation, we aim to strengthen the non-governmental organizations under the roof of the federation both technically and operationally, and to provide one-to-one consultancy support by paying a visit to their centers.
Within the framework of this collaboration, legal counseling was provided three days a week to the counselees who came to Istanbul-based associations of the federation. During these interviews, we observed that in addition to the need for legal counseling, counselees and their families have many different vulnerabilities. We provided general counseling to counselees whom we observed varied vulnerabilities. The counselees who are identified in need of more comprehensive support are referred to Mavi Kalem’s free of charge consultation line and case team where they are provided with access to services.
In terms of our technical capacity building activities, we conducted two online trainings with the associations affiliated to the federation under the titles of “Humanitarian Aid Standards” and “Migration and Status in Turkey”. Through these trainings, we aimed to support the existing human resources of associations, their access to those in need, and to strengthen their international protection perspective and rights-based approaches. The trainings were interactive, and the associations shared their experiences on the subjects they had difficulty with and the best practices they were satisfied with.
Technical capacity building activities include establishing connections and developing relationships with humanitarian actors and local municipalities to increase associations’ access to information, legal procedures and available services.
In addition to these activities, we organized information meetings concerning violence with women who are the beneficiaries of the association. In these meetings, women talked about their own experiences and what solutions they came up with for the challenges they faced during these experiences. Moreover, children who came to Eurasian Turkish Associations for various activities participated in informative art activities that we held online and face-to-face. We are proceeding on with all these works in 2022 as well.
