A principle of our association work is the direct connection to the projects and cooperation partners on-site. We want to ensure that our help arrives where it is needed and that it supports women sustainably on their path to more independence.
Thus we, Medina and Isabel, traveled to the Turkish city of Urfa as representatives of the association's board. On November 2, 2018, we met Sawra in her apartment 40 km from the Syrian border. With the help of our Turkish partner organization AVAZ, Sawra has set up a room there as a sewing workshop. With the orders she can take care of herself, her sister, and her nephew.
Sawra is our pilot project in Urfa. The evaluation confirms that in Urfa, together with AVAZ, we will continue to be more active. It is important for us to not only focus on refugee Syrian women. Turkey is currently experiencing a difficult epoch of the economy. Many Turkish families also suffer from this: The Turkish lira is constantly losing value and Syrian refugees are pushing into the labor market. In Urfa, more than one in five residents have fled Syria. Quite a few of the Syrians are willing to work below the minimum wage.
Offers of help that are exclusively devoted to refugees increase social tensions. Therefore we want to expand and open our project. The aim is to create a place for refugee and local women where they can further qualify in order to use their potential for their economic independence. At the same time, women of different origins, ethnicities or religions should experience themselves as partners and supporters of joint future projects.
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