Project Summary
Grantee	: Youth Lives Foundation
Purpose	: Developing a high school girl dorm model that is responsive to the social needs of the girls
Location	: Konya, Nevsehir
Grant Amount	: 115.404 TL
Project Partner	: Husnu Ozyegin Foundation
Period	: 15 April 2011-15 April 2012
Status	: Completed
Project Year	: 2011

Background

The existing service model of high school girl dorms do not support the social needs of girls. (Youth Lives Foundation, 2011)

Project Goals

• At 2 high school girls dorms in Konya and Nevsehir:
  • 350 girls will participate in “Exploring Potential”, “Career Awareness”, “Social Responsibility” trainings.
  • 350 girls will meet local role models and carry out social responsibility projects.
  • 35 dorm educators and administrators will participate in trainings regarding adolescent girls’ needs.
• Through advocacy activities, efforts will be taken to create a best-practice model that would be replicated in other high school girls dorms across Turkey.

Project Results

• Field visits to the project provinces were completed and local project coordinators were identified.
• 8 role model women in high level management positions were selected.
• Training content for young girls was developed.
• Seminars on gender awareness for 15 dorm administrators and educators were conducted.
• 311 young girls participated in training sessions on gender.
• Women who were identified as role models met high school girls and 93% of the participants reported that they would like to have a career in the future.
• 254 young girls completed trainings on team-work, communication and project development.
• 78 young girls planned and implemented 12 social responsibility projects.
• A book discussing challenges of girls in dorms and sharing the experiences of the project “Girls Living in the Dorm: Count me In”, was published and shared with stakeholders.

Testimonials

“She made her dreams come true because she believed in herself; she believed that she has the power to make dreams real. First she aimed to overcome all the obstacles in front of her, then asked for advice and help. Now she is a teacher at the dormitory where she used to stay as a student. She is doing her best to help all her students. She did not forget her friends and is providing support to all of them.”

Young Girl Living in Dorm That Wrote About Her Future Self After Participating the Project

“Being a woman I am proud of myself, I am strong and happy.”

Young Girl Living in Dorm

“I know life is difficult but now I know one more thing: to success is in my own hands.”

Young Girl Living in Dorm

“It is important that young women are now more aware of their power and abilities, the people and organizations that they can consult and ultimately more actively participating in society.”

Trainer

“Thanks to this project we started to learn new things, fun and useful things...”

Young Girl that Implementeda Social Responsibility Project

“They have become more aware of their responsibilities. They have started to believe in the importance of implementing the assigned tasks no matter how challenging they are.”

Dorm Teacher