More Meaningful Life Through Transformation
Social Entrepreneurship, Empowerment and Cohesion Project Notes || December, 2023
Mind of the West, Heart of Anatolia
This month, thanks to social media, we were introduced to the concept of 'social decay'. The academic was on an ordinary trip with her cat when she was suddenly handed a microphone and said, "There have been many crises in the history of the world, the economy always recovers. The main problem is social decay and the loss of an ethical philosophy of life" she said, suddenly reminding millions of people about social cohesion.
In another interview, she said that 'decay' can represent a positive transformation, which is possible by giving space to different voices in society, accepting change and, most importantly, overcoming our shortcomings in terms of being individuals.
“With the combination of the mind of the West and the spiritual power of Anatolia, if we use time and space wisely and each individual questions their own process of decay, we can go through a positive transformation process as a society. The reason why stray animals can survive in the narrow streets between high-rise buildings on this precious land is our feelings of compassion and conscience. Where these valuable feelings exist, there is a need for leaders who will guide and lead the society. Let's focus on recovery. Let's share healing news and actions and create positive perception. "Let's keep the feelings of compassion and conscience of this land alive." (Zeliha Burtek, Academician)
In other words, she reminded us that we can move forward if everyone remembers that they are the hero of their own story and takes responsibility without forgetting the sentiments of our culture.
Do I Have Meaning In My Life? Will I Become A Hero One Day?
From time to time, we question our lives, wondering what our purpose in life is. We want to make sense of our existence, to become important heroes. At the end of the journey, we realize that life is a journey of self-realization and maturation. And each of us is already a hero in our own ordinary lives and has the potential for transformation. The purpose of this journey is to contribute to the whole, to the collective, to society.
Heroes who want to benefit society, who work for the good and beauty to multiply, take initiative, take action and inspire others with their actions. The SEECO Project brings us in contact with these heroes. One of them is Leyla Ayvazoğlu, the founder of HAZEK Cooperative in Altınözü, Hatay.
She is one of the secret heroes of the "Adding Value is in Our Hands" project, which was realized in collaboration with Loreal and Aslı Filinta. With the project, cimems made with wheat straw knitting, which is unique to Hatay, were transformed into bags. Through the work of HAZEK Cooperative, 350 women/families were employed and natural plant knitting trainings were provided. An average of 7 tons of wheat and 40 decares of field harvest was used to produce 4000 bags. After the earthquake, employment for women was created through traditional production. In this process, we supported the project by acting as a connector between the cooperative and the company within the scope of the SEECO Project Social Procurement Program.
The cooperative applied jointly with Altınözü Municipality and was selected as one of the SEECO Project Livelihood Facilities. With our support, the capacity of the cooperative will be empowered, enabling the cooperative to produce products that can be found in supermarkets nationwide with a certain quality standard and provide employment opportunities for more women. With the realization of this project, the cooperative aims to have a greater positive impact in the community.
Last month, we discussed new projects at HAZEK Cooperative and chatted with Ms. Leyla.
“Losses are a fact of life but fortunately life goes on”
"It is hard to find someone in Hatay who says they have not lost a relative. Neither is the person who says they haven't lost their house, their belongings, their car. These losses are a fact of life, but we cannot live with this reality. There is a big change in everyone's life and we need to start again. As long as life continues, our hopes increase. We, as the cooperation want to talk about our dreams, not our troubles. The more we work, the busier we are, the better it is for us. Work helps us more than a psychologist. At least in our opinion it does."
"As Altınözü HAZEK Cooperative, women's employment is at the centre of our work. Because when we provide opportunities for women, we also affect their lives, their family, their children and their homes. we want women to earn and find a job. The two subjects that women are best at are production and zero waste. We want to provide trainings on these subjects and maintain this ideal until there are no unemployed women.'" (Leyla Ayvazoğlu, HAZEK Cooperative)
What is at the Core of SEECO Project?
We focus on solution and production-oriented thinkers by revealing the hidden values in Anatolia. We believe in the power of local culture and unity. The SEECO Project is based on the intention of 'supporting socioeconomic development by transforming the cultural and social value inherent in Anatolia into products and services'. Our three main areas of work to ensure development are 'social entrepreneurship', 'capacity empowerment' and 'social cohesion'.
Social enterprises are organisations that are established to solve social or environmental problems and solve these problems by offering certain products and services. They operate with the aim of generating revenue and profit, but unlike commercial ventures, they do not distribute their profits, but rather channel them into new investments to increase and disseminate their solutions.
Impact Investments, on the other hand, aim to create social and environmental benefits as well as financial returns and share these returns with their investors. Unlike social enterprises, they also offer attractive investment opportunities for commercial investors.
As in the case of HAZEK Cooperative, cooperatives that are committed to the community and have a real desire to make a difference can also be considered as Impact Investments because they aim to create social impact by adopting goals such as sharing profits fairly and ensuring social and economic sustainability among members.
Progress in the Field
As the executors of the SEECO Project, we came together at the Orientation Meeting in Ankara. We had a productive week as the Ministry of Industry and Technology General Directorate of Development Agencies, Project Implementation Unit, five Development Agencies and the World Bank Team.
Antonella Bassani, World Bank Regional Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, and her accompanying delegation visited our Social Entrepreneurship Centre in Nurdağı, Gaziantep on 28 November. During their visit, they were informed about the activities of our Social Entrepreneurship Centre.
We started working on our project in Adana and Mersin as of 18 December.
Potential beneficiaries came together in İpekyolu, Karacadağ and Dicle Development Agencies and benefited from training and mentoring programmes.
We have started the work of the "Beneficiary Selection Committee" and we continue our work to determine the most suitable grant beneficiaries and to announce and distribute the grants in January.
We launched a tender for the livelihood facility established in Islahiye. The textile workshop established within the scope of the project was awarded to a woman producer who used to make her own production before the earthquake but lost her workplace.
Robert College students were at Nurdağı Social Entrepreneurship Centre. Between 13-17 November, 11 students from Robert College, accompanied by 2 supervisors, carried out social responsibility work at Nurdağı Social Entrepreneurship Centre. The students carried out various activities such as sports, art, literacy with the children in the facility during the mid-term break. (The centre serves children in the region to provide social interaction, work opportunities, a safe environment and access to technology).
We are a big team working with enthusiasm for the same purpose. In the new year, we will be working harder than ever to support more social entrepreneurs, create more employment opportunities, promote social cohesion and strengthen our local stakeholders. We wish you all a good new year.
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