Supporting Womens Leadership

The Foundation of Valuing Women's Handwork (KEDV) and the Social Services and Child Protection Institution (SHCEK) jointly carry out a European Union-supported project since September 2000.

Titled as "Supporting Women's Leadership in Turkey's Local Development", the project basically aims at increasing the capacity of women's groups; enabling women to develop small projects in their neighborhoods to meet their needs and to implement them; enabling them to directly cooperate with other sectors and promote increased communication among women; and developing local, national and international communication networks.

The project is being also implemented in the earthquake zone including provinces of Kocaeli, Sakarya and Duzce, and Istanbul, Diyarbakir and Mardin.

Poverty Alleviation in Diyarbakir

The project implementation has started in Diyarbakir on April 26, 2001. Focusing on local development, the project aims at encouraging women’s productive activities.

The goal is to bring poor women together to set up businesses starting with purchasing the raw materials, producing and marketing the end-product. The Social Welfare and Solidarity Foundation sponsored by Diyarbakir Governorship supports the project. The project envisages putting poverty alleviation measures into effect by introducing women’s unused labor power into production.

Candle ateliers and training

in Kayapinar, sixteen women, who seek to earn their own living, produce candles in candle production ateliers.Another project implemented by KEDV comprises of training women in accounting, organization, work breakdown, and increasing the market share. The project aims at enabling women to combine production groups into cooperatives and take up the work.

Centers for Women and Children

The second leg of the "Supporting Women's Leadership in Turkey's Local Development" project in Diyarbakir, comprises of Centers for Women and Children.These centers provide care for children of 3-6 age group, organize them in play groups, and organize activities for mothers with babies up to two-years-old. .

These centers also enable women in the same neighborhood come together and develop joint projects. Social workers from the SHCEK provincial administration provide training for mothers at these centers in the fields of childcare, education and health.

These centers are currently run jointly by SHCEK and KEDV. End of May

is the target date for forming cooperatives. (FK/BB)