Mavi Kalem Sosyal Yardımlaşma ve Dayanışma Derneği Hayata Rengini Kat!
A new round of Turkish language courses has begun within our Enhancing education and wellbeing for vulnerable girls and boys and families in Istanbul Project.
We support refugee children living in Esenyurt, Istanbul, to continue their education by reinforcing their Turkish language skills through these courses. Developed in collaboration with the Public Education Center, these Turkish language courses help children communicate more comfortably and confidently both at school and in their daily lives.
As part of a project launched in July 2024, Mavi Kalem is working to remove and reduce barriers to accessing education for refugee Turkish girls and boys aged 7-18 living in Esenyurt.
In 2025, the project partnered with the Esenyurt district Public Education Center to launch Turkish language learning courses. Twenty-five refugee children aged 6-13 participated in a two-month Turkish language course. This course helped the children express themselves more easily in both their social and educational lives. During the course, the children gained the opportunity to communicate more easily with their friends, express themselves in the classroom, and interact with their surroundings using Turkish in their daily lives. At the end of the course, feedback was received from the children, their teachers, and their mothers about how the course benefited their lives.
The children commented, “I understand my teacher better now!”, “It’s easier to talk to my friends!”, “I can read Turkish books myself!”, “I can now understand what’s being said in the supermarket!”, and “I can follow the lessons better!” They provided their feedback.
Mothers expressed satisfaction with their children’s regular participation in the course and observed that they were more enthusiastic and confident when studying at home. Teachers noted that the children’s participation in class increased, they were quicker to ask and answer questions, and they were more actively involved in group work. This feedback demonstrates that the course had a significant impact on developing the children’s Turkish language skills and self-confidence.
The feedback we received from children, teachers, and mothers indicates that the children are beginning to use what they have learned and that speaking Turkish makes their lives easier.
