First Student at the Biga Women and Children's Center!

Dear Friends:

Another day, another milestone for the Biga Women and Children's Center! Things are moving quickly now...

Last week, I wrote with the great news that Canakkale Ceramics had committed to finishing the center exterior - a wonderful pledge from a great local company. Already this week, they sent personnel to the center and completed the work. See pictures of the painting process and beautiful finished product below! This professional exterior was exactly what the Bikad women had been hoping for - this kind of "finishing touch" is what will inspire good relations with their neighbors and respect in the community.

In November, the women started moving furniture into the center and collecting on promises of donated furniture from local businesses. This week, we see pictures of a largely furnished center. My personal favorites are the ones of their first registered student playing a game of blocks at one of the children's tables :)

This has been a great week at the Biga Women and Children's Center...in her email to me center leader Ayfer Baykal opened with "Sevgili Jill, bugun farkli bir mutluluk yasadik" - "Dear Jill, today we experienced a different kind of happiness." She was referring to the joy felt by the women when they registered their first student for the 5-6 year-old group. They will be registering three groups of students - 5-6, 3-4, and a younger nursery group. They hope to begin classes in about three weeks, approximately January 15th.

Our opening ceremony is on-hold until at least March and perhaps early this summer, depending on when I can make it over during a school break. We originally wanted to do it during my late-January break but the ground froze over before they could finish their garden work. I'll keep everyone up-to-date on this, in case you'll be in the neighborhood!

all my best and thanks for following,
Jill

1. The center's first student, ready to learn!

2. Center volunteers, including several from the Canakkale 18 Mart University:

3. New curtains and other colorful decorations for the children's classrooms:

4. The newly painted center exterior:

4. Ayfer Baykal, center leader, and Biga Municipality Mayor, Mehmet Ozkan

A Year Later...

Sevgili Arkadaslar,

Just over a year ago we were heralding you all with the great news that we had won $25,000 for the Biga Women and Children's Center from Chase Community Giving. Looking back on that time now, I realize that our work was really just beginning! It took months to secure the center location and have the building hauled to Biga from Adapazari, and longer than that to pin down the necessary local support to finish the building process. But throughout the process, BTF supported the women quietly in their quest to make big changes in their community, and the stakeholders of Bikad did not lose hope.

Now, it seems we are over the biggest hills, moving with more and more certainty towards a finished product. Ayfer Baykal (the center leader and Bikad co-founder) writes me every several days with updates on building progress and new local support. In the last several weeks, for example, Canakkale Seramik pledged to complete the unfinished floors of the center and paint the outside. Local university students helped out by cleaning the space in preparation for the classroom set-up. Most significantly, the Bikad Women's Cooperative decided to part of the women's space for their workshop/kitchen - a move that will help support the fragile small business by saving them money on rented space.

Please enjoy the pictures and thanks, as always, for following!

all my best,

Jill

1. Garden day with the Biga major. He worked side-by-side with the cooperative volunteers to neaten up the garden and plan grass and flowers. He promised to install a play park for local children across the street.

2. The new floors - beautiful!

3. The center in the news!

4. The new workshop of the Biga Women's Cooperative:

5. In honor the new space....a new oven!

Sevgili Arkadaslar,

Great news from Biga: One side of the center is finished and in-use, while the other is in the final stages. The side that is finished is already being put to good use; the volunteers are collecting supplies for the preschool and daycare center. The ceilings are done and the electricity connected; the basic facilities are completed thanks to the Biga municipality, who donated the use of their machinery. The projects for the coming week are installing the heating system and sinks, as well as hooking up the natural gas to the building.

In other news, Dogtas, the local multi-national furniture firm, was as good as their word, donating and installing beautiful kitchen appliances and office furniture. Local support like this is what will sustain the center and enable it to function effectively in the community.

We are finding out in the next few days whether we were successful in gaining the in-kind donation of siding from a local cermanics company - let's keep our fingers crossed!

We are now on course to open on January 3rd; the month of december will be devoted to cleaning the center, moving in supplies, and finishing trainings.

Some great pictures to follow!

all my best,

Jill

1. Dogtas installations in the kitchen:

2. Garden work!



3. Finished ceiling:

4. Volunteers preparing for the preschool...working in the center :)