Mavi Kalem Sosyal Yardımlaşma ve Dayanışma Derneği Hayata Rengini Kat!
The Women Access to Income Program emerged as a result of field feedback and observations in Hatay, one of the provinces most affected by the February 6 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. In the program, we aimed to provide support for women’s empowerment, income generation and combating women’s poverty.
After the earthquake, women took action to turn their labor and products into income, and they also mobilized us. Here are the details about the program:
Equipment and material support was provided to 82 women who had lost their jobs after the earthquake, who wanted to re-establish their businesses, who wanted to improve their existing businesses, or who continued their businesses at home or in containers. In this process, we supported women to return to business life, generate income and return to their routine lives after the earthquake. The women sent us letters in which they told us about themselves and which business they would like to develop or establish. Applications were open to women with and without commercial organizations.
Women who do various jobs at home, in tents or in their own production areas applied for the project.
We contacted the women one-on-one and had conversations with them. Women’s applications were evaluated according to certain criteria. First of all, women who had an income from an independent job before the earthquake or who did not have another income earner in the family were ranked higher in the selection criteria. In addition, women who had children, elderly or sick people to care for at home alone were also given higher selection rights in the evaluation process.
We conducted face-to-face interviews with the selected women. We asked them about the most basic tools and materials needed to develop and sustain their businesses. We purchased the materials and delivered them to the women after confirming in contact with them. One month after the delivery of the materials, we made follow-up visits to observe the developments in the women’s businesses and the impact on their income changes. We monitored whether they were able to use the delivered materials effectively. In addition, we identified the topics that women needed to improve their businesses.
We held information meetings on topics that women requested and that would support their businesses. These were financial issues, effective use of Instagram, and digital marketing.
After supporting 82 women to establish and develop their businesses under the Women Access to Income Program, this time we started working to promote their businesses, make them visible and support their sales.
Women’s Success Stories Inspire Us All
We have initiated efforts to promote women’s businesses, increase their visibility and inform them by experts on the issues they need to develop their businesses.
We established kadinisi.org, a website where women’s business stories and products will be presented with informative videos shot by experts.
In our interviews with the women this time, we talked about their stories of starting their businesses, how the process after the earthquake reflected on their businesses, and how they are currently progressing their businesses. Thus, we wrote many different stories.
We shared the written business stories and products on kadinisi.org website, @kadinisiorg instagram and Kadınlar İşini Kuruyor Facebook page and ensured their dissemination.
During the interviews, women said that they needed some information to develop their businesses. To support women in developing their businesses, informative videos were shot by experts on various topics.
We added the informative videos to the kadinisi.org website and the Kadınlar İşini Kuruyor YouTube channel.
Visit us to see women’s success stories and work up close!
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The program is run by MaviKalem.
Institutions supporting the program:
Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (Acted)
