Many of the community service groups working under the umbrella of the Social Awareness Projects (TDP) student volunteer organization are dedicated to making life better for children. To celebrate the coming of summer, TDP recently held their third annual Children’s Festival, hosting approximately 400 of the children served by their projects.
The event took place at the Spring Festival area. From magic shows and dance performances to inflatable games and sand painting, many different activities were offered for the children. A special feature of this year’s festival was an appearance by rock musician Doğukan Manço.
Among the children who came to Bilkent for the festival were those served by the Support to University Personnel Project, the Voluntary Teaching Project, the Child Care Centers Project, the Street Lamp Project and the Citizens of Hope Project.
The event capped off a year during which the children had studied and done many different activities with the volunteers. Throughout that time, TDP members kept in mind their aim: reminding children that they were still children, even though some of them might have forgotten that fact after experiencing such traumas as the loss of their homes, exclusion from society or being raised without their parents. The festival offered a special occasion to highlight this aim and gave children and volunteers alike the chance to finish the year in a very enjoyable and beneficial way. TDP members expressed their hope that the children will remember this day for the rest of their lives and leave their traumas behind as much as possible.
If you would like to become a part of this big family and volunteer with any of the projects, you need only contact TDP at tdp@bilkent.edu.tr.
To follow TDP on social media, please see facebook.com/TDP or Bilkentinstagram.com/TDPBilkent.