ODAŞ News

On April 23rd, ODAŞ launched a Heartfelt Initiative to Inspire Children's Dreams

ODAŞ touched the dreams of children in the earthquake region with the ‘Vocational Dolls’ project, ODAŞ asked 200 children in the Playrooms of KEDV's Women and Children Centres operating in Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep and Hatay, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ and together with women's cooperatives, ‘Vocational Dolls’ were sewn for the profession of each child's dreams.

‘Each baby is a symbol of a dream and hope’

Speaking about the project, Yasemin Aydınlar, Corporate Communications Manager at ODAŞ, said: "A child's ability to dream is one of the most powerful steps towards the future. At ODAŞ, we believe in creating not only economic value in the regions we operate, but also in delivering hope and new opportunities to people's lives. The “Vocational Dolls” project, which we carry out with KEDV, opens a special space for children in disaster-affected regions to reconnect with their imagination and find their own voices. Each doll is a symbol of a dream and hope. On this 23rd of April, we wanted to touch the hopes and strengthen the dreams of children who are the real owners of our National Sovereignty and Children's Day."

‘Ben Bebekleri’ enables children to express themselves

Zeynep Tekerek, Child Development Specialist from KEDV Kahramanmaraş field team, said that the Ben Bebekleri Programe carried out by KEDV in Playrooms is a tool for children to express themselves, build empathy and strengthen their social bonds: "As part of KEDV's Early Childhood Programe, Ben Bebekleri is a multifaceted application that enables children to discover themselves, think about social roles and express their feelings. Children who can recognise their own body characteristics, express their needs, and empathise grow up; babies can silently express what children cannot express in words. With the support of ODAŞ, we transformed our Ben Bebekleri study into the Vocational Dolls project and asked children about the professions of their dreams. We designed profession dolls inspired by children's dreams. With Vocational Dolls, we wanted children to learn about the diversity of professions away from gender stereotypes in their career choices. Our aim is to support children's development and make them feel how valuable their dreams are."