Suna’s Daughters initiative, which was launched in 2021 under the umbrella of the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation in order to keep the efforts, values, goals and vision of businessperson Suna Kıraç in the field of education, took action to establish safe spaces that take care of the needs of girls in the earthquake-affected areas. In this context, it is planned to establish three separate centers in temporary settlement areas in earthquake zones by the end of May, and to increase the number of centers to 10 in line with the needs of the region.
İpek Kıraç, founder of Suna’s Daughters initiative, gave the following information in her statement on the subject: “As Suna’s Daughters, we are taking action to establish centers for all children, especially girls aged 11-18, in regions affected by earthquakes. Together with the non-governmental organizations we work with, we work to create inclusive spaces that can prevent children from disconnecting from education. We aim to implement long-term supportive programs in the centers that we will implement in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the non-governmental organizations we work with.”
Noting that three of the centers, which will be established together with civil society, public and private sector organizations, are aimed to be operational by the end of May, Kıraç added that the number of centers will be increased to 10 according to the need.
Girls are among the groups most adversely affected by disasters.
Pointing out that especially girls in adolescence are among the groups most adversely affected by disasters, İpek Kıraç said that children who are at risk of early and forced marriages, child labour, drop-out from school and all kinds of abuse are more likely to be exposed to these risks in times of disaster and crisis. also increased. İpek Kıraç stated that it is of great importance to create safe areas where girls can spend time with their peers, access child protection services quickly and easily when necessary, and meet their developmental needs in order to prevent possible risks, and continued her words as follows: draws attention to the risk that 70% of girls and women may be exposed to violence in various forms in these situations. It takes a lot of effort to eliminate this level of risk.”
Adding that they are working to ensure that the centers to be established in the region are safe both physically and emotionally, Kıraç said, “The effect of the programs to be implemented is possible with the competence of the teams to be assigned and the children being active stakeholders in the process. We hope that the programs and models produced by the Suna’s Daughters community, which puts child safety at the center of all its activities, will be beneficial for all children in the long run.”
With the centers to be established within the scope of the work initiated by the Suna’nın Daughters initiative, preventing children from being away from education and learning against the risk of school dropout; creating safe spaces for them to meet and socialize with their peers; providing adolescent and girl-friendly health information and services that contribute to their emotional, physical and social well-being; opening up a space for sports and arts-oriented studies to support the development of children; supporting children’s rights and empowerment to access services; In the current conditions, it is aimed to create opportunities for children’s voices and opinions to be heard and to increase their participation in decisions.
