DAMLAMAK – (TURKISH) TO DRIP
While working in Guatemala in 2006 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the area of Post Hurricane Stan Disaster Relief and Reconstruction an experienced civil engineer who was working along side of me didn’t mince words:
“God may have given us water but we have to pay for the pipes.”
It is surprising how many people the world over still do not have access to clean, safe drinking water because of this simple statement.
Over the past year as the District’s Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar I have helped the Denville Rotary Club create a Matching Grant Project with my host club here in Istanbul, the Suadiye Rotary Club, that addresses this reality of water misallocation and the lack of appropriate plumbing.
The Matching Grant Project’s objective is to provide purified, drinkable water to four public schools in lower income districts on the Asian side of Istanbul. The schools are:
1)Cemile Besler Ilkogretim Okulu
2)Kayişdagi Arif Pasa Ilkogretim Okulu
3)Celal Yardimci Ilkokulu
4)Foundation for the Training and Protection of Mentally Handicapped Children
In spite of the tenuous economic and financial situation faced by every one throughout year, Rotary International approved the Matching Grant Project.
A total of 20,000 dollars was awarded and is now being put to good use.
During the month of June water filtration and UV purifying (sterilization) systems with self-closing faucets will be installed in the four schools. A Suadiye Club Rotarian estimates that a total of 400 self-closing faucets will be installed.
These taps will provide clean drinking water for the school children and conserve water that is being lost either through leaky faucets or children not closing them properly.
Coupled with this installation, a series of workshops will be given by the Suadiye Rotary members to instruct the students in the use of the self closing faucets (which are not a common feature of school water systems in Turkey) and educate them in the importance of water conservation.
After studying Turkish for the last ten months, the Suadiye Rotary Club has given be the honor and challenge to lead the first water conservation workshop. The catch is that I would be doing it in Turkish.
On Thursday May 28 the Matching Grant Project was officially begun with my presentation to 60 students between the age of 10-14 at the Cemile Besler Ilkogretim Okulu (Camile Besler Primary School) with my presentation entitled “Suyumuzunu Nasıl Tüketiyoruz/ How Do We Use Our Water.”
The day was fantastic fun. My exotic status as an American trying to speak in Turkish held the students captivated as my partner, Suadiye Rotarian Mr. Okyay Kaynak, could deftly translate “My Turkish” into a more polished and understandable “Their Turkish” when needed.
The children, myself and Mr. Kaynak conversed for an hour and a half covering the intended project topics of water conservation and how to use self closing faucets properly but also getting to the more important matters of Do I like Turkey, Is learning Turkish hard, What is my favorite soccer team, What is my favorite place to visit in Turkey, Do lions live in America, etc.
At the end of the presentation the following two questions came in rapid succession (and said in Turkish mind you): What is the importance of water in the world’s ecosystem and When will Swine Flu end in the United States?
After having the students and the rest of their classmates repeat in unison the question a number of times, I told them that they were good questions in deed and that I will have to learn more Turkish to give them a proper answer. I flashed the biggest smile I could and told them that I would get back them.
There is nothing like the beauty and danger of an open forum question and answer period with Turkish school children.
But to be honest, I plan to do just that: Get Back To Them. For me, this presentation was a great motivator both in terms of how far I have come in learning Turkish and how much farther that I want to go in understanding Turkish.
The Suadiye Rotary Club is grateful for Denville’s support and involvement in this Matching Grant Project. They are excited about the project’s installation and education of so many school children on such an important topic as water consumption and conservation. They are adamant to continue working with the Rotary Clubs of District 7470 to perform more projects in both Turkey and New Jersey.
I feel honored, as an Ambassadorial Scholar, to be part of this special connection between Denville and Suadiye, New Jersey and Istanbul , Rotary District 7470 and Rotary District 2420. I feel equally challenged to continue to strengthen this bond throughout the coming years One Turkish Word At A Time, One Drop of Water Saved At A Time.
