The social responsibility project titled “Women Empowered by University, Future Strengthened by Mothers” was organized by Üsküdar Üniversitesi Vocational School of Health Services and Faculty of Health Sciences, with the support of the Ministry of Family and Social Services, in cooperation with the Üsküdar Social Services Center and Pusula International Aid Association. Within the scope of the project, 25 mothers participated in a 2-week training program with their children. In the project led by Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak and Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan, while emphasizing women's individual development and societal roles, simultaneous workshops were also offered to children along with their mothers. The project concluded with a closing event held after the trainings.
The program was held at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Çarşı Campus Emir Nebi Conference Hall.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “It was embarked upon with a beautiful dream and good intentions”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan delivered his speech within the scope of the program. Tarhan stated, “In this project, it is observed that mothers received excellent and high-quality education at the university. Moreover, this education was delivered with emotions. In other words, it was not merely a transfer of information. It also became a volunteer project. It is crucial for volunteerism to be central to social responsibility projects. For a project to be voluntary, it must involve empathy. When empathy and virtue come together, people form social bonds, a sense of unity develops, and as a result, volunteer projects emerge. This project serves as a wonderful example of this. This project was embarked upon with a beautiful dream and good intentions.”
“The logic of the university is not merely to provide an academic profession”
Tarhan, stating that the project will provide benefits in the medium and long term, said, “The involvement of volunteers in such projects and their realization within the framework of university-NGO cooperation make these projects very strong in terms of lasting impact. The souls of young people and children were touched. We will see the fruits of this in the future. Its effect may not be visible in the short term, but in education, the results of these efforts will undoubtedly emerge in the medium and long term. Because when we carry out such projects repeatedly, their effect becomes permanent. The logic of the university is not merely to provide an academic profession. It is also to instill social development and a sense of social responsibility in individuals. This is also a part of university culture. Here, important duties fall upon the faculty members as well. Studies carried out more actively with university students, not only focusing on lessons but also by participating in the field with their clubs, will be much more effective and beneficial.”
“We should use our values as a compass”
Tarhan, stating that one must first determine their purpose when embarking on life's journey, said, “Pusula Association did not lose its compass. Because what we call a compass are our values. We have human values such as virtue and morality, shaped within the framework of eight fundamental values... Moral values enable a person to determine their direction when making a decision or embarking on a path. The person looks in the direction they want to go and determines their course according to their compass. Similarly, when we set out on life's journey, we must first determine our purpose. We should ask questions like, ‘What kind of person do I want to be? How do I want my life to be? What kind of life do I want my family to live? What kind of individual do I want my child to be?’ Afterwards, we should determine our roadmap, direction, and course according to these values, using our values as a compass.”
Halis Kuralay: “We always support our women and mothers”
Halis Kuralay, Istanbul Provincial Deputy Director of the Ministry of Family and Social Services responsible for projects, spoke at the opening of the program. Kuralay stated, “As the Ministry of Family and Social Services, we always support our disadvantaged women and mothers. We are proud to stand by our women who shape the future.”
Cem Çaylak: “Let's not forget: Empowering women means empowering society”
Cem Çaylak, Provincial Deputy Director of the Ministry of Family and Social Services, spoke at the closing of the program. Çaylak stated, “With this project that brought us together today, we find the support for our mothers and young women especially valuable. Because we know that every developing woman is also a mother who shapes the future, a teacher, a role model. Let's not forget: Empowering women means empowering society.”
Rümeysa Alkoç: “We wanted it to be a compass for other mothers and children”
Rümeysa Alkoç, President of the International Pusula Association, making evaluations about the current system of the Pusula association, said, “All the stories we heard would make a book, but they would remain in a five-page book. We wanted to take this story. Let it be an example for other stories, let it be a compass for other mothers and children. Based on this, we established the current system of the Pusula Association. In fact, our mothers show us what we should and should not do. That's why I thank my mothers very much. Because if they hadn't given permission, we wouldn't have been able to enter their homes and embrace their children as our own. Because they entrust their children to us and say, 'These children are yours.' This is very precious to us. If we didn't have education, we couldn't volunteer. As you know, this is a project we are currently carrying out with volunteer trainers. We have testimonies. We wanted to apply what we witnessed to real life.”
Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış: “We always support projects focused on community service”
Rector's Advisor Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış, stating that women's empowerment brings about strong families and, consequently, a strong society, said, “As Üsküdar Üniversitesi, we always support community service-oriented projects. From a social services perspective, the widespread adoption of such projects is of great importance. The family is the basic cell of a society; if this cell is damaged, the entire structure is negatively affected. While supporting our single-parent mothers here today, we must not forget the humanitarian tragedies experienced in regions like Gaza.”
Prof. Dr. Mesut Karahan: “We exist for society”
Speaking at the program, Vocational School Director Prof. Dr. Mesut Karahan said, “As the Vocational School of our University, we are greatly honored to support this project. The empowerment of women through education is extremely valuable for the future of society. Our students and academics contribute wholeheartedly to the project. The doors of our university are always open to our mothers and children because we exist for society. It is highly important that such projects are not limited to speeches but are also supported by practical workshops.”
Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan: “We aimed to strengthen women's and mothers' identities”
Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan, Head of Occupational Health and Safety Program at the Vocational School of Health Services, Project Coordinator, stated, “We aimed for women's identity to be strengthened by supporting each other, without conflicting with their mother identity. We want to increase the personal, social, psychological, and cultural awareness of disadvantaged mothers. While mothers receive education at the university, we also organize simultaneous workshops for their children.”
Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak: “We measured the project's educational gains and found a significant increase in mothers' knowledge and attitudes”
Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak, Head of Social Services Program at the Vocational School of Health Services, spoke within the scope of the program. Çaylak stated, “First and foremost, we want mothers to realize that they exist as women first. For 2 weeks, mothers received training from experts in their fields with 24 different educational contents, while children received training in 5 different workshops according to their age groups. In our project, we measured the educational gains with a pre-test and post-test application, and as a result, we found a significant increase in mothers' knowledge and attitudes. We consider this significant result important in terms of academic output. I would especially like to thank our mothers. Our 25 mothers participated in the training without interruption, coming to our university happily and eagerly with their children every day. At the end of each training, the mothers said, 'Teacher, don't let it end, let's continue.' This made me very happy, and it made me feel that our project had achieved its goal, and the seed was now beginning to sprout.”
Tuğçe Doğan: “We always prioritize the empowerment of women”
Tuğçe Doğan, Vice President of Pusula International Aid Association, spoke within the scope of the program. Doğan stated, “As an association, we provide support for mothers and children in this meaningful project. We always prioritize the empowerment of women, who are the fundamental building blocks of society. Our contribution to the project reflects our belief in sustainable social development.”
What was done in the program?
On the first day of the program, the ‘Self-Knowledge Module’ was carried out. In this context, the pre-test application was conducted by Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan, Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak, Research Assistant Sema Ürnek, Research Assistant Nurefşan Tomaç, and Research Assistant Gamze Yalçın. Afterwards, an introduction and get-together was organized under the leadership of Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan. Subsequently, Tuğçe Doğan focused on the topic of ‘Who's Who?’. The first day concluded with a training on ‘Our Values’ with Emine Doğan.
On the second day of the program, the ‘Communication Module’ was conducted. In this context, Elif Akbaydar provided training on ‘Coaching-style Communication’ and ‘Thinking Technique’. Subsequently, Specialist Psychologist Gaye Kağan gave training on ‘Emotion Management’. At the end of the second day, Psychologist Can Kamsız provided training on ‘Emppathy and Body Language’.
On the third day of the program, the ‘Changing Roles in Today's World Module’ was conducted. In this context, Elif Öztürk gave training on ‘Systematic Approach’, and Merve Gül conducted a practical training under the title ‘Breath Therapy’. Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak covered ‘Women's and Motherhood Identity’, and Neriman Özer concluded the first week with the topic ‘Parenting Models’.
On the fourth day of the program, the ‘Contemporary Issues Module’ was conducted. In this context, Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış spoke on ‘Violence’, Police Officer Eda Han on “Narcotic Mother”, Seda Er on ‘Combating Addiction’, and Tuğba Sercan on ‘Psychological Problems’ and ‘Social Support’.
On the fifth day of the program, the ‘Holistic Health Module’ was carried out. In this context, Prof. Dr. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin, Dean of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, gave training on ‘Women's and Family Health’, Specialist Dietitian Zehra Zelka on ‘Nutrition’, National Athlete Taha Kurt on ‘Sports’, and Zülfikar Abaz on ‘Personal Care’.
On the sixth and final day of the program, in addition to remote work training by Fatih Gediman and Kadriye Çakır, Münteha Erdem completed the training with a practical study on entrepreneurship. At the end of the project, the final test application was conducted by the project team, led by Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan, Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak, Research Assistant Sema Ürnek, Research Assistant Nurefşan Tomaç, and Research Assistant Gamze Yalçın, concluding the training modules.
Cake cutting at the closing ceremony
During the two-week training, mothers had the opportunity to learn together with their children.
The program concluded with a cake cutting and a group photo session.
