Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
They worked in pursuit of a better tomorrow
Through their efforts, they contributed to the lives of others
They empowered others, creating new opportunities and hope.
They spent their days for the sake of this purpose,
without any expectation of honor or praise.
They never relinquished their faith that tomorrow could be better.
And they never gave up.
"Turkey's Changemakers" is looking for people who make a difference in others lives
from all across Turkey.
Sabancı Foundation's "Turkey's Changemakers" begins...
Dear Viewers, welcome to a new Turkey's Changemakers.
We come to you today with a story from Istanbul of a lesson to be learned.
There are very rich districts in Istanbul.
They are very well-off. On the other hand,
there are districts which are quite poor.
Some call these districts outskirts, some call them slums.
But then there are those districts
where the rich are very rich and the poor are very poor.
For example Beykoz, a district where it was full of workers
who worked in factories but now we can't call it
as either the outskirts or the nouveau riche district.
Districts that once were wealthy have lost their popularity,
city planners call them deteriorated areas.
When they started to lose their popularity,
then they came face-to-face with economic and social problems.
Have you ever seen Beykoz? It's a very confusing place.
On one side you see homes of the wealthy...
On the other, you see poor families who had once been factory workers.
Someone has to bring these two groups together.
Someone had to add "something" in the lives of those less fortunate.
It seems that Şaban Tören,
who has lived for many years in Beykoz, has succeeded in doing so.
Not only helping out the poor people there,
or helping out the youth there,
but also providing peace within the community.
He is the bridge to the wealthy helping those
who are less fortunate.
With Turkey's Changemakers you don't have to save the world,
it could just be something that affects those around you.
Şaban Tören is a great example
of someone who has done that.
In the beginning of the 1950's
there were two doors of hope for the unemployed in.
The first was Germany's invitation to invited workers from Turkey,
the second was Istanbul, the city of gold.
Workers who were not able to go to Germany,
found themselves in Istanbul.
At the time, large companies such as Paşabahçe
set up their factories in the Istanbul region of Beykoz.
Surrounding the factories were the poorly constructed homes of workers.
Homes full of dreams made Beykoz a district full of hope.
As time passed, Beykoz became a more central part of the city.
Yet with factories closing,
this hopeful part of the city, deteriorated.
As the Bosphorus started gaining value, these homes were overshadowed
by luxurious villas being constructed around them.
There are many families struggling to make a living
because the factories have closed down.
They search for a new way out for themselves and their families.
The younger generation is walking a dangerous path in a district
that has lived through this trauma.
Fortunately they are not alone.
The community has established the Beykoz Foundation
which is helping to guiding the younger generation.
- The education rate of the working population of Beykoz is low.
They live in poor conditions,
each home having 7-8 children.
After the factories closed down,
the poverty level of Beykoz increased tremendously.
Where there is poverty, there is a higher percentage that the children
will take the wrong path: be it drugs, mafia... Or becoming a part of a gang.
Where there is no education, no food and no work, youth seek other means.
When these problems starting becoming more frequent,
we realized that it was up to us to change this.
We wanted fine arts to become more a part of the life in Beykoz
and we started a social responsibility project.
If you go to them, if you show these children the opportunities,
you will see a good outcome.
Otherwise there is no way we can help out the children
from taking the wrong path.
The Beykoz Foundation was formed a long time ago
with the intention of helping youth.
This foundation was established by workers' families and goes way back.
- I was actively involved with the formation
of the Beykoz Foundation in 1994.
I'm one of the first founding members,
of which there are 19 in total.
Those years I belonged to a union so I did all the structural work
during the establishment
and founded the Beykoz Foundation.
The Beykoz Foundation is not an elite foundation,
it takes into hand all the problems that the residents of Beykoz confront.
Being close with the residents, helping them find jobs,
being the bridge between the fortunate and less fortunate.
The foundation was established by workers
and it is now supported by the wealthy businessmen of Beykoz.
Their aim is to promote change and reach youth through fine arts.
For a very minimal fee,
the children of Beykoz can see into a whole new world
by taking violin lessons or attending theatre classes.
- The violin is a simpler instrument than the guitar
and it attracts more attention from the children.
We asked them which instrument they would like to play
and 99% preferred the violin.
"The small violinist group" of Beykoz consists of 25 children.
They gave 4 concerts.
We have close to 100 children in our theatre class.
Both the seniors and the juniors had two plays each.
With the theatre, we have performed plays
to about 15 thousand students for free.
If you conducted a survey within Istanbul of all the people aged 15 to 30,
they would not come up
with the same amount of theatre audiences as in Beykoz.
The children of Beykoz have grown to love theatre.
That is why we give great importance to the foundation.
We also have 25 students who play the guitar.
We are also starting a new program with the string instruments.
We have a folk dance group.
We had to form two more NGOs to accommodate them.
The Foundation strives with these programs
and now we have formed folk dance groups in all the schools.
The Beykoz Foundation was the first to start this.
This is why we give such importance to children.
We focus them on fine arts so that they stay away from the streets.
- You pretend to dance as you roll around.
- I bid you to be polite.
- No no, that's not my style.
- We become well informed and aware.
Before coming here, I was more introverted.
Now I am more active, have become more active
in my school and my own personal life.
- I go to highschool, why do you still call me "little one"
- Sorry my brother, I always say little one to the little ones. Hey there.
- Wait, what's this all of a sudden!
- We come on Saturdays.
I used to have a lot of free time on Saturdays,
I was bored. But now coming here,
I have started to become more active. Active both in school and here.
When my friends ask what I am doing on Saturday, I tell them
I am going to the theatre. They are also starting to appreciate this more.
The Beykoz Foundation had a tough time in the beginning;
convincing families to send their children and to ask for their support.
However the violins that entered the shanty homes have changed many things.
- We see that when the children come here for music or
theatrical training, it affects their own education too.
Teachers say that the children are influenced in a positive way and they
in turn try to influence the other children living in their neighborhoods.
People's approach to Beykoz Foundation have changed.
We've had lots of requests.
These children are going through tremendous change.
Whenever they return home with their violin or guitar,
they attract the attention
of all the children around them.
In a large district like Beykoz, in a less fortunate region,
we witness a huge change among the children.
This is why we are focusing on these projects.
- My mother would attend a choir at the Beykoz Foundation,
seeing her I was inspired and
interested to play the violin.
I started when I was in grade one.
I have been playing now for seven years.
My dream is to enter the violin musical department in
the Anatolian Fine Arts High School,
then continue at a good conservatory
and to pursue a career in music.
I am much more confident in myself.
It has made me different from my friends - which I like!
- A violin student does not come along often.
Each instrument has its difficulties
but when it comes to children, we try to keep their interests open.
That's hard to do. For example, if they don't like it here; if we can't get them to like us
and the music, this is not something they have to do, it's a hobby.
Because they have school during the week,
we practice on Saturdays and Sundays.
We have group studies and once or
twice a year we give a concert.
As concert dates approach, we have group studies to practice together.
The major aim of our "Little Violinist Group" is to increase
their self-confidence.
To help them be prepared for life.
We give violin lessons here,
but our true wish is to be able to change their lives
through sharing love.
First these studies influence their grades,
their success in the classroom and their overall performance.
They learn to express themselves with music;
they become more comfortable expressing themselves that way.
While fathers used to hold machine parts in the factories,
the children now hold violins.
They will make a difference in their fate with the change
they have discovered in music and art.
- My mother is here. She found me my teacher
and I am very happy with her.
I sometimes play my violin at school; our music teacher wants me to.
Since I am the only violinist in my classroom,
all my friends are fascinated.
- I first saw the violin on TV,
it made such a beautiful sound that I told my father
that I wanted to play the violin as well.
My father searched for lessons. I started and so much has changed.
All my teachers at school recognize me,
I've learned new songs.
I've really progressed as a violinist, they are quite surprised.
My mother and father get very excited whenever I give a concert.
They are so happy with my teacher.
I want to go attend the conservatory when I get older.
I also attend the folk dance classes.
- I was inspired because I saw Holstein on the birth certificate.
The classes at the Beykoz Foundation are mostly
given by volunteer teachers. However, to be able to have more
children participate in more activities,
they need support.
What makes the foundation special and different than the other ones is
that it is supported by the wealthy residents of Beykoz.
They offer support to make a difference in the life of
someone they never met.
It's a place where there is peace,
where the wealthy and less fortunate meet thanks to this foundation.
- As the Beykoz Foundation, we introduced 100 less fortunate people
with the wealthy residents of Beykoz.
We brought them together, they found brothers and sisters,
and they took responsibility for a hundred students.
Every Sunday, they bring their children to let them play
with the less fortunate children, to give their lives some meaning.
They help the families.
That is why with the foundation's education commission we introduced
them to 100 less fortunate but successful students.
This is the project of the moment. One or two businessmen,
the mayor of Beykoz, Yücel Çelikbilek supports us.
They are all very supportive in the projects
that we are willing to take on.
We are here today
because of our Board, donors, friends in the media.
We could not have done it without their support.
But for our projects to continue to grow,
we need financial support and sponsors.
My roots are of a worker in Beykoz.
For 3 generations we have been in Beykoz, I grow up in factories,
but these children, especially the children of workers,
It has been my biggest source of pleasure
to introduce them to music.
Şaban Tören and the people at the Beykoz Foundation
have taken over an exemplary social responsibility project
for the future of their neighborhood.
They showed how children could change
when introduced to fine arts.
They made a tremendous difference
in the world of children holding a violin
or playing in a theatrical scene.
They have taken the hands of the forgotten children,
lost in the center of Istanbul and made a huge change in their lives.
Dear Viewers, there is a lot to learn from Şaban Tören's story.
We sometimes do not see the economic and cultural difference
between people who live in the same community as we do.
We forget to lend a hand,
we sometimes totally ignore them.
But people like Şaban Tören
bridge these two world's together.
They become the bridge for us.
If you are a changemaker like Şaban Tören or know someone who is,
after a short break
I will tell you know how you can participate in this program.
Dear Viewers,
we are at the Seed Conference Centre of Sakıp Sabancı Museum and
we have now come to the end of another Turkey's Changemakers program.
It's very easy to participate in this program.
If you have access to the internet, please go to our website
www.farkyaratanlar.org
and fill out our form.
Or you can contact us via telephone,
be it your home telephone,
mobile, any phone will do.
Call us on 0-212-249-23-14,
we will always be here ready to answer.
we meet again on Turkey's Changemakers,
I'm Cüneyt Özdemir wishing you all a good night...
They worked in pursuit of a better tomorrow
Through their efforts, they contributed to the lives of others
They empowered others, creating new opportunities and hope.
They spent their days for the sake of this purpose,
without any expectation of honor or praise.
They never relinquished their faith that tomorrow could be better.
And they never gave up.
"Turkey's Changemakers" is looking for people who make a difference in others lives
from all across Turkey.