Established in 2017 by volunteer students, Üsküdar Nar Harekatı Club aims to integrate children residing in orphanages affiliated with the Ministry of Family and Social Policies into society, support their individual development, and help them grow into beneficial individuals. Üsküdar Nar Harekatı Club, a social responsibility project organizing studies on foster parenting, regularly holds workshops every 15 days within the university as part of its club activities. Additionally, many volunteers and children are reached through joint festivals held with Nar Harekatı Volunteers from other universities.
“Tales are being written for children residing in orphanages”
Face-to-face activities that could not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic continue with the Nar Masalları (Pomegranate Tales) project, created in collaboration with the Young Brains Academy and Üsküdar Nar Harekatı, and supported by the European Union Civil Think. Within the scope of the project, tales designed to raise awareness and help children in orphanages learn while having fun are being written.
The young volunteer team from the university, aiming to make the project sustainable and reach more children, adopted the motto “We are in Tales with Our Awareness” and established the Nar Masalları Association for continuity. The Nar Masalları Association aims to produce innovative tales to help children aged 3-12 gain awareness at an early age, deliver these tales to all children, especially those living in orphanages, and support their developmental areas through field studies.
Dr. Nebiye Yaşar: “Children are the greatest treasure of this world”
Dr. Nebiye Yaşar, Director of Üsküdar University Young Brains Academy, stated that she supported the volunteer team during the Nar Masalları Project and in all subsequent processes; “The support given to Narcanlar by the Young Brains Academy will reach all children in Turkey like pomegranate seeds through Nar Masalları. Children are the greatest treasure of this world. The Nar Masalları Association, established to ensure the sustainability of our project and announce its impact to the whole world, will undertake this mission and carry innovative tales as a cultural heritage to the future with the Narcanlar.” she said.
İklima Ebrar Çiçekdal: “Nar is a journey that began for the sake of volunteering”
İklima Ebrar Çiçekdal, President of Üsküdar Nar Harekatı Club and Founding President of Nar Masalları Association, provided information about the Nar Harekatı Club; “Nar is a journey that began for the sake of volunteering, always aiming to benefit children, and organizing activities to ensure children are not forgotten in society. In this journey, which started under the leadership of us young people, our association was established thanks to the support of our accompanying volunteers, families, esteemed lecturers, and sponsors. We will always continue to exist as ‘elder brothers and sisters’ who strive to support children's development. We thank everyone who stood by us in this adventure and dedicated their hearts to children. We are glad Nar exists.” she stated.
Seval Fulin: “Nar is a welcome message to a new world”
Seval Fulin, Vice President of Üsküdar Nar Harekatı Club and Vice President of Nar Masalları Association, expressed her feelings and thoughts about the project; “Nar is a welcome message to a new world, embracing my friends, volunteers, and children. Within this message, through our workshops, we imprint our Narcanlar and children onto pristine white pages with happiness. Seeing the joy of causing a child to smile, and deciding that our path should always be for children, we want every person to experience the feeling of volunteering with us, saying 'more children and more volunteers' with our association.” she stated.
Behiye Beyda Çal: “We want our association to warm the hearts of all children worldwide”
Behiye Beyda Çal, Vice President of Üsküdar Nar Harekatı Club and Vice President of Nar Masalları Association, also used the following expressions about Nar Masalları: “Nar is an adventure of children and Narcanlar, holding hands and leading each other to colorful realms accompanied by laughter. This adventure continues to gain meaning with the blessings of Nar and with the friends I embarked on this journey with. Being a child's role model, seeing the smile on their face, and having volunteer friends carries all the fatigue from our work up to the sky, like a balloon floating away. We want our association, embracing the love of pomegranate seeds, to stir every heart and warm the souls of all children worldwide.” she said.