Project Arkadas – Hatay Visit

A blind Syrian boy reading Arabic in brail in a Hatay Syrian support centre

I visited Hatay at the end of January 2020, with Syria Relief, to conduct a needs assessment for Project Arkadas. The project was scheduled to be delivered in summer 2020 by a group of volunteers however the Coronavirus pandemic has changed that, the delivery timetable may have changed but the principles of the project remain the same.

Project Arkadas’ vision is to provide a friendly, caring, helping hand to those who have been deprived through crises.

The first visit to Hatay, visiting Syrian support agencies and refugees, sowed the seed that I hope will develop into a force for good. I have no illusions about the challenges that will be presented along the way in trying to introduce a scheme that has no immediate benefit to beneficiaries.

On this first visit I delivered several boxes of donations direct to Syria Relief in Turkey and arranged for further boxes to be shipped to Syria.

I visited several centres and business initiatives and gained mutual agreement to deliver training to beneficiaries.

The training initiative will be called Partnership with UK Friendship Training and I am developing an action plan to take this forward.


Arkadash Fundraising Dinner

Conservative Friends of Turkey hosted a dinner with guest speakers Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State of Housing, Communities and Local Government and His Excellency, Ümit Yalçın Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey. 

We were fortunate to have two speakers ideally placed to strengthen the bond between Britain and Turkey. 

The evening was organised to fundraise for a new initiative to support Syrian refugees in Turkey, Project Arkadash.

Project Arkadash is planning to start a social action project in Istanbul, in 2019.

Project Arkadash’s vision is to:

  • provide a friendly caring, helping hand to those who have been deprived through crises
  • to helping Syrian refugees

Project Arkadash values are:

  • to help those who have been displaced through conflict
  • to commit to building strong sustainable communities
  • to commit to doing good for the whole (good for the community they go into)
  • that family is of fundamental importance
  • that all people should be treated with respect
  • that everyone’s point of view has value.

The plan is to deliver a first action project in Istanbul in the summer of 2019, and provide sustainable logistics for the first and subsequent action projects.

Importantly, we want to build a network of activists, supporters and sponsors. Some of the attendees indicated that they wanted to volunteer and signed up.

Join me and volunteer for Project Arkadash Sign up #IamArkadash

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#IamArkadash

Vision 

Providing a friendly, caring, helping hand to those who have been deprived through crises.

Values

A commitment to provide help to those that have been displaced through conflict

A commitment to building strong, sustainable communities

A commitment for doing good for the whole

A belief that family is of fundamental importance

A belief that all people should be treated with respect

A belief that everyone’s point of view has value

Objectives

To deliver the first action project in Istanbul in the summer of 2019

To provide sustainable logistics for the first and subsequent action project

To build a network of activists, supporters and sponsors