Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from Kristina Delgado of Small Projects Istanbul, one of the organizations involved with this year’s We Are All Refugees event.
The future of Syria may be uncertain, but the future for students and families from Syria doesn’t have to be.
Small Projects Istanbul’s mission is to provide access to supplemental education that will assist students and families from Syria to succeed in Turkey and beyond, paving the way for better opportunities in the future.
After engaging in various “small projects” to assist families from Syria resettle in Istanbul, SPI has begun to focus its efforts on helping children and young people from Syria access education in Turkey. While the war rages on, SPI is helping to stop the downward spiral into unemployment and poverty that curtailed education threatens to create for members of what is being called Syria’s “lost generation.”
We believe helping to address the current crisis of education for children and young people from Syria will help entire families get back on their feet, and help create the new generation of leaders needed for Syria’s future.
As a global community of volunteers and supporters, SPI is working to provide supplemental education to women and children from Syria through Turkish language and art classes that develop community and a new sense of belonging. SPI is also developing a scholarship fund to send well-vetted applicants through a 12-month, full-time Turkish language course that will enable them to enroll – and succeed academically – in Turkish public universities.
Small Projects Istanbul is a grassroots organization that runs solely on volunteer non-paid commitment. All funds raised by SPI are used to sustain our community center in Çapa for on going educational programs, such as our Turkish classes, art classes and scholarship program.
In addition to cash donations for our community center, we are also accepting donations of only the following school items:
- Turkish language books
- Turkish children’s books
- Pencils
- Erasers
- Sharpeners
- Colored pencils
- Paint
- Clip boards
For more information, please visit our website.
For information on volunteering, please email us at info@smallprojectsistanbul.org.
To support this organization and the greater cause, be sure to join us on Saturday 30 May at We Are All Refugees. Over 20 bands, artists & organizations have come together for a night of fun, donations, and fundraising.
[…] Small Projects Istanbul, a local nonprofit focused on helping children and young people from Syria access education in Turkey, will be hosting a happy hour fundraiser on Friday 4 September at Café Lumiere. The event begins at 7:00 pm and the entrance fee is 30 TL, which will go towards maintaining the group’s newly-opened community center. […]