The Sun Rises From the Village (Güneş Köyden Doğuyor) project, working this year in the village of Eymir in Yozgat’s Sorgun district, has started off the semester with 70 volunteers. The Sun Rises From the Village is a project of TDP (Toplumsal Duyarlılık Projeleri/Social Responsibility Projects), Bilkent University’s umbrella organization for student volunteer activity.
The goal of The Sun Rises From the Village project is to improve Eymir socially and economically. In particular, Bilkent students wish to encourage children to study for university, and to enlarge and develop their vision.
With the support of Eymir Mayor Çetin Mertoğlu, the Bilkent volunteers have begun their work by focusing on the development of Eymir Primary School’s social infrastructure. They will restore and convert an unused building into a library; the facility will also have areas for social and sports activities.
Project coordinator Neslihan Çiftçioğlu explained what motivates the volunteers to undertake this work. “We have observed that in this country there are two types of children of same age; one child receives a top-quality education, while the other can’t even find a book to read. Both are our country’s future. Some children can’t dream of doing more than finishing primary school. My fellow volunteers and I are very fortunate to have had the best education, but there are many who aren’t so lucky. I’m proud of this project, where we help to give children the opportunity to change their lives.”
Those who are interested in becoming volunteers for The Sun Rises from the Village project and having this unique experience are welcome to contact the project coordinators:
Zeynep Geylan – geylan93@gmail.com
Neslihan Çiftçioğlu – nesclihanc@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
In line with its motto, “What about being part of the solution, not the problem?”, TDP is continuing to undertake community service projects, as it has for over a decade. Everyone, regardless of what faculty they are studying in or what university they attend, can join TDP. If you want to be part of the solution, you can contact the TDP coordinators to learn more: tdp@bilkent.edu.tr.