Our Disabilities Don't Have To Stop Us!

Background Information

Scouting is a legal activity in Türkiye and there are federation, NGOs and clubs about it. We have also a NGO for our initiative. Every year, we take our registration certificate from the District National Education Directorate. In addition, we also have registration in the Federation of Scouts NGOs in Ankara, the capital city of Türkiye. We also put our aims to the Strategic Plan of the Municipality.

Goals of the Initiative

At first, our aim was to reach at least 30 disabled children and their parents. We aimed to convince them that they can overcome the difficulties. We reached this aim, and then we started to reach 80 disabled people and their parents. After that, we go on with 180 children and parents. We supported the teenagers to find jobs and helped them to gain their self-confidence. They feel themselves normal just like the other people in the community. Anymore, they know the disabilities cannot stop them. We continue our initiative with the new people and their parents. Our target is helping and supporting all 4000 disabled people in our district and their parents in every field of their life. We want them all to be rehabilitated both thanks to our activities and also the treatments at the hospital. That’s why we follow their health procedure. 

Innovation for the Initiative

At first, our aim was to reach at least 30 disabled children and their parents. We aimed to convince them that they can overcome the difficulties. We reached this aim, and then we started to reach 80 disabled people and their parents. After that, we go on with 180 children and parents. We supported the teenagers to find jobs and helped them to gain their self-confidence. They feel themselves normal just like the other people in the community. Anymore, they know the disabilities cannot stop them. We continue our initiative with the new people and their parents. Our target is helping and supporting to all 4000 disabled people in our district and their parents in every field of their life. We want them all to be rehabilitated both thanks to our activities and also the treatments at the hospital. That’s why we follow their health procedure. 

Outcomes and Assessments

At the beginning of our initiative, our aim was to rehabilitate the disabled children and train their parents. We managed to do this. We organised the handcrafts courses for the children and their parents. We gave some places such as shops and stands to them to sell their products and contribute to the family budget. We showed them they can earn money and they are not useless. We organised some kermes. They sold their handmade products there.The children who couldn’t speak started to talk to their parents. We created some special choir for them. They also sing anymore. They love themselves. They are happier now.Our next targets: We would like to found a “Scout House” where the children and parents do the activities together, we can organise the seminars and give courses, the cultural and educational events can be done, the disabled children meet their peers in a safe place. In that house, we can easily create the suitable environment for the activities for each type of disability. In addition, we are planning to make our children do the intern in the Health Faculties in the universities of our district according to their abilities. We meet the responsible people from these universities. We also try to manage the health institutions such as hospitals to check our children’s health situation each month. We want to sign the agreement with these institutions for this issue.We would like to create some ground areas for each child in the garden of the “Scout House”, so they can grow their own vegetables or flowers. They will give their names to these small gardens; these gardens will be the love gardens where their hopes are grown up. In addition, they will be able to feed their pets in these gardens. Via the love of nature and animals, we are planning them to be rehabilitated.