An event titled “Humanitarian Aid and Search and Rescue Activities in NGOs” was organized in collaboration with Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services (SHMYO) Occupational Health and Safety Program and Social Services Program. The event, which emphasized the importance of volunteering and the role of young people in the field, took place with the participation of representatives from Pusula Association and ANDA Istanbul. Humanitarian aid, social responsibility projects, and university-NGO collaborations were also discussed at the event.
The event, held in the Çarşı Campus Emirnebi 2 Conference Hall, was attended by Rector's Advisor and Head of Social Services Department Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış, Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services (SHMYO) Occupational Health and Safety Program Head Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan, Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services (SHMYO) Social Services Program Head Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak, Pusula Association President-Anda Istanbul President Rümeysa Alkoç, Pusula Association and Anda Istanbul Vice President Tuğçe Doğan, Anda Istanbul Search and Rescue President Emre Özbek, ANDA Istanbul Youth President Zeynep Tosun, and Pusula Association Board Member Mr. Münteha Erdem.
Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış: “The law of brotherhood is an important duty upon us”
Rector's Advisor and Head of Social Services Department Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış emphasized the importance of the law of brotherhood: “To care about the troubles of others, to protect the children of others, to caress the heads of others' children, to support those who are left alone, is once again an important duty upon us by virtue of the law of brotherhood. The law of brotherhood is either the law of being born from the same parents, coming into the world from the same mother and father. Secondly, there is a brotherhood by being a citizen of a homeland, a citizen of a state. Everyone who is a citizen of this state, from east to west, north to south, has laws of brotherhood in terms of their relationship with each other. Or, as a member of a certain religion, I am a brother to approximately 2 billion Muslims in the world. They are my religious brothers. We need to evaluate all of these. We will treat our own brother well. We will treat our brother, who is a citizen, well and share with them. We will hear the troubles of a person belonging to our own religion in Palestine, in Gaza. Because they are a brother, a religious brother. And the fourth law of brotherhood is whether one is Muslim, Christian, Jew, or atheist. Whether they are a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, Germany, or America. We are brothers by creation, we are human brothers. If we do not achieve these, our name is human, our appearance is human, but we need to consider how human our actions are,” he stated.
Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan: “We love doing projects with students”
Speaking about social responsibility activities, Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services (SHMYO) Occupational Health and Safety Program Head Dr. Lecturer Gamze Kağan said; “We met with Melek teacher on a common ground. We have ongoing work with the Red Crescent. First, I want to explain how this event started. A year ago, in May, we had a meeting about social responsibility. We met Ms. Münteha. Ms. Münteha told us such wonderful things, saying, ‘These are very valuable works that can be turned into projects.’ Since then, we have held meetings at certain intervals. We have many wonderful ideas and projects. God willing, we will start them next summer. We love doing these with students.”
Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak: “We formed a very good team”
Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services (SHMYO) Social Services Program Head Dr. Lecturer Melek Çaylak said; “We also formed a very good team from our students. With that team, we intend to establish a Pusula campus here and, through the Pusula campus, carry out work in both humanitarian aid and search and rescue. While supporting these children, we will also launch a wonderful project for their mothers this summer.”
Rümeysa Alkoç: “If our youth go out into the field, we can follow them”
Pusula Association President and Anda Istanbul President Rümeysa Alkoç pointed out that volunteering is a very difficult task: “Volunteering is a very difficult job. It is a job for which you have no personal gain, no interest, and which requires continuity. There are days when you sometimes don't have weekends, sometimes you don't have your family. You will encounter many disadvantaged people and people in need. But they will all ask you to solve their problem. But how will you do that then? As human beings, we cannot solve it by trial and error. We go with the known method, and when we cannot solve it, we send that task away. If you are going to do this as a job, you will put it at the center of your life. As Anda, truly, everyone from our top leadership to our most junior volunteer is in the field. That's why you know where and what the problem is. When you go to a person's home for humanitarian aid, you understand that person. If our youth go out into the field, we can follow them. If you lead the way for us, you will guide, and we can hand this over to you with peace of mind,” she stated.
Tuğçe Doğan: “Volunteering is crucial in humanitarian aid”
Pusula Association and Anda Istanbul Vice President Tuğçe Doğan said; “Due to your fields, all of you will be dealing with people. Whether it's humanitarian aid or a relief organization, you surely know and see NGOs. Perhaps some of you have worked or volunteered before. Volunteering is a very important point in humanitarian aid. It is also very important to elevate this to a professional level when the time comes. We can truly provide humanitarian aid when we act by determining what people need. Some people might only need a smile. When they are very distressed, when you go to their doorstep, they might need your cheerful face more than the package you give. Or they might need to be asked 'How are you?'. We need to establish a bond with those people. Humanitarian aid is not as simple or as easy as one might think. Currently, as an environment, as a world order, we are being directed towards 'me'. 'I am important, take care of myself. If you are good, life is beautiful. If you are happy, everything is happy.' But life is not like that. The reason for human creation is not based on this. We are important ourselves, but we are more important when we are all together. We are more successful, we can benefit more people. You need to look at who is doing what and why. What most NGOs do is provide financial support, but touching the future and dreams of those children is something completely different. Being conscious is a very valuable thing.”
Emre Özbek: “We have a situation of putting everything in order”
Anda Istanbul Search and Rescue President Emre Özbek, speaking about the realities of search and rescue operations in the field and his experiences, said; “When you turn to the search and rescue side, that becomes a completely operational situation. That is, your field work, and so on. When helping a person, or your spouse, friend, etc., we can say something like 'Let me take care of your task tomorrow.' So, we have a situation where we can put everything in order there. But the situations that come to us generally do not unfold this way.”
Zeynep Tosun: “We love being with different people”
ANDA Istanbul Youth President Zeynep Tosun, touching upon the contributions of young volunteers and the social role of youth, said; “We try to help as much as we can. They also guide us, share what they know, and in the future, many among us change their direction towards humanitarian aid or search and rescue. Genç Anda (Youth Anda) was established to reach our youth aged 18-35, to create a social environment for our young people with diverse interests and talents from all over Turkey, and to offer them fields of activity. In line with these goals, Genç Anda organizes academic, cultural, and various sports activities. In other words, we are involved in the cultural, sports, and academic aspects of the work. We all love being with different people. Our aim here is to integrate young people into society while also providing them with advantages they can incorporate into themselves and develop for the future.”
Münteha Erdem: “My dream and goal is to raise you young people”
Pusula Association Board Member Münteha Erdem gave a speech on organizational structure, sustainability, and volunteering motivations. Erdem said; “My dream and goal is to raise you young people. We have done very serious work on this subject. We have created wonderful projects on how to prepare young people for business life and how to make them love it. When I, like you, studied at university and graduated, I started working the next day, and it was a great trauma for me. I had no experience. I encountered real life in the business world, thinking 'Is this really life?'. My concern is the same as Pusula's. Pusula also wants to raise people, and so do I. Within the scope of my project, we decided to establish Pusula Academy to prepare orphaned, socially orphaned, and parentless children for business life. Afterwards, these projects developed significantly. In a meeting with Gamze and Melek teachers, we asked, 'Why don't we establish campuses in universities? Why shouldn't our Pusula club be in universities?' We held very serious meetings with our friends about this. Afterwards, these projects developed significantly. If you mentor these children, open their way, and support them with their university life, we will be very happy,” she stated.