OUR PREVIOUS PROJECTS
Anything is for a Smile Association has been organizing educational and social programs in Turkey since 2001. association has provided services in many areas since it started to serve. The following our some of our previous projects:
European Voluntary Service – EVS
Volunteers who come to our country from Europe with the European Voluntary Service Program continue to work voluntarily in 2 different private education centers in Adana. It was chosen as the exemplary project of the year 2014 in Turkey and represented the Turkish National Agency and Turkey in Europe.
Deaf Projects
Adana SODES Deaf Center 2012-2017
The Adana SODES (Sosyal Destek) Hearing Impaired Communication Center was opened in 2011 with the support of the The Turkish Ministry of Development within the scope of the SODES Program and under the coordination of Adana Governorship, in order to provide vocational and academic skills training to the deaf and to reach their potential.
More than 270 deaf trainees benefited from the Basic Computer Skills, Graphic Design, Art, Sailing, Cooking, Waiter/Busboy Training. The deaf students also received instruction in basic Turkish grammar.
Many deaf people around the world have achieved successful careers in different professional fields such as doctors, microbiologists, scientists, legal researchers. Our goal is to ensure that deaf people in Turkey have better career opportunities by having the same educational opportunities.
Turkish Sign Language Courses
When a deaf person goes to the hospital, they cannot communicate properly. Currently, hospitals do not have a sign language interpreter and doctors or nurses do not know sign language. As a result of this, many deaf citizens are misdiagnosed and the wrong medication is used. The Hearing Impaired Communication Center organizes sign language courses for everyone, whether hearing or deaf.
To date, more than 300 people have successfully completed our Turkish Sign Language courses in our center, attended by teachers, lawyers, hospital staff, parents of deaf children and university students.
Summer Camps for Deaf Children
2012 - 2015 Anything is for a Smile Association organized summer camps for deaf children. Often these children from low-income families would spend the entire summer at home. They were able to acquire academic and creative skills in the summer camps we organized.
Joy Therapy Programs
Anything is for a Smile Association's "Joy Therapy" hospital program began in Turkey in 1997 with weekly clown, music and art events organized for children with leukemia at Istanbul Cerrahpaşa Hospital. Our Joy Therapy program, which follows the world-famous Patch Adams model, was a first in its field in Turkey. It is a scientifically proven fact that laughing, being joyful and happy activates the happiness hormones in children's brains and accelerates the healing process. We have received very positive feedback from the children's families and hospital staff.
Following our programs, children are more willing to eat and test results consistently show that children are getting better. This program, which we started to do in Adana Balcalı Hospital Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Department in 2000, continued for 20 years until the pandemic. To date, approximately 300 volunteers have received training as part of this project and some have started their own volunteering activities.
Playrooms and Playgrounds
We established a beautiful play and study room for the blind children studying at Adana Oğuz Kağan Köksal Primary School for the Visually Impaired. By bringing life to an empty room that previously had no toys in it, a great need was met for children.
In cooperation with Adana Sheraton Hotel, a children's playroom at Meydan Gynecology and Children's Hospital was established. Our artists brightened this room with colorful wall murals.
Playground Project: In April 2009, we built a "Playground" at Seyhan Primary School for the Hearing Impaired in Adana. Before carrying out this project, children at school did not have a playground. In addition, we installed a "Solar Energy System" on the roof of the school building to meet the children's hot water needs throughout the year.