Nesin Foundation (Nesin Vakfı) was founded in 1973 by renowned writer Aziz Nesin to support children’s right to education in Türkiye. Following the February 2023 earthquakes, the foundation expanded its mission to create safe and healing spaces for children in Hatay, fostering resilience and emotional well-being through creative and engaging activities.
With our grant support, Nesin Foundation organised a series of workshops in culture, arts, design, music, and nature to help children process trauma and rebuild a sense of hope.
Read our interview below to learn more about the foundation’s inspiring work in Hatay.
Can you briefly tell us about the mission of the Nesin Foundation and how your organisation contributes to education for disadvantaged children?
The Nesin Foundation supports children and young people who are unable to access quality education due to socio-economic challenges. We welcome children without focusing on academic success and meet all their needs in a safe, child-friendly, and ecological environment. They stay with us until they are ready to stand on their own feet.
Currently, 38 children aged 8 to 23 stay at our centre in Çatalca. They attend local public schools and receive holistic support through educators, volunteers, psychologists, and carers. We offer personalised educational programmes and a wide range of workshops in areas like music, carpentry, agriculture, and ceramics to help them explore their interests.
Each child takes on responsibilities in daily life and participates in activities such as art events, field trips, summer camps, and workshops at Mathematics Village. We also provide university scholarships for successful students with limited financial means and support 200 children from earthquake-affected areas.
In addition to the children who live with us, we also collaborate with local schools to organise cultural and educational events, including teacher training in permaculture and arts. Our library, with over 70,000 books, is open to the public and we regularly donate books to rural schools.
We held 334 workshops, reaching 1,668 children in villages and temporary settlements across Hatay.
Can you tell us about the activities and outputs of the Aziz Dede’s Travelling Workshop project, which was supported by our grant?
Following the February 2023 earthquakes, we launched Aziz Dede’s Travelling Workshop in Hatay to offer psychosocial support to children aged 7–18. We also aimed to strengthen local educators, volunteers, and professionals working with children in the region.
Our workshops were designed to be inclusive, child-focused, gender-sensitive, and nature-friendly. Each two-hour session explored themes like storytelling, art, music, nature, and community life. The aim was to create a space where children could express themselves, build emotional awareness, and process their experiences through creativity.
We held 334 workshops (92 mobile, 242 regular), reaching 1,668 children in villages and temporary settlements across Hatay. We also organised 24 week-long workshops in arts and design, engaging 168 children and young people. Each session was co-facilitated by a psychologist and an artist or educator to ensure both emotional support and creativity.
To strengthen the local ecosystem, we provided capacity-building trainings in Samandağ in February and August 2024. These sessions helped develop a core group of local practitioners, and we began collaborating with other civil society organisations in the region.
The feedback we received—from families, facilitators, and an independent impact evaluation—has been incredibly encouraging. Many parents told us they noticed changes in their children’s behaviour at home. The fact that families from other villages invited us or brought their children long distances to participate shows the depth of the impact.
Compared to your past work, what has this project taught you about working with children in post-disaster contexts?
This was the first time we worked outside our Çatalca campus and in a disaster zone. It was a challenging but deeply educational experience. Bringing together a team of educators, artists, and psychologists from across Türkiye, and working with shared principles and values, was enriching for everyone involved.
From the start, we developed common codes of conduct with our psychologist, held regular feedback sessions, and created space for team learning and support. Supervision meetings, team retreats, and peer learning became essential to our process. These moments helped us better understand each other and adapt our approach based on collective insight.
We also learned the importance of flexibility and trust—especially in a region like Hatay, where infrastructure and basic services were severely lacking. We often used our own resources to support logistics and even took on manual work ourselves when needed.
Overall, the project helped us grow not just professionally but emotionally, as we experienced true solidarity with the community in Hatay.
We dreamed of offering children a space for play, healing, and growth. Thanks to your support, that dream became a reality.
What are your future goals and how did this grant support influence them?
This grant significantly shaped our future direction. It helped us build a flexible and responsive project model that we can now adapt to other regions—including our home base in Çatalca.
We’re stronger as an organisation and more confident in designing and running creative, psychosocial support projects in different settings. We hope to continue supporting children and local practitioners in Hatay while expanding similar programmes elsewhere.
Is there a message you would like to share with the donors who made this grant possible?
Every meaningful project begins with a dream. We dreamed of offering children who were affected by the disaster a space for play, healing, and growth. Thanks to your support, that dream became a reality. We’re deeply grateful to the donors who made this work possible. Your contributions didn’t just support workshops; they nurtured resilience, connection, and hope.
