Dearest friends,
As I mentioned in my last post, we met with our builder Omer Kucuk in my last few days in Biga to draw up a realistic building schedule.
Here is the result:
August 25: Arrival of the roofing supplies
August 26: Installation of the roof
August 27: Installation continued
August 28: Installation of the plumbing system
August 30: Installation of the alum flooring
August 31: Installation continued
September 3: Ceramic flooring
September 4: Ceramic flooring
September 5: Water installation
September 7: Ceiling construction
September 8: Painting interior walls
September 9: Assembling the windows
September 10: Electric work
September 11: Natural gas work
September 12: Natural gas work continued
September 13: Assembling the bathrooms
September 14: Assembling heating system
September 15: Assembling heating system continued
September 16: Outside siding installation
September 17: Outside siding installation continued
September 18: Outside siding installation continued
September 19: Platform stairs
September 20: Assembling the garden tiles
September 21-23: Organizing the garden
September 24: Arranging the kitchen appliances/furniture
September 25: Finishing any incomplete work
September 26: Furnishing the building
As you can see, with this schedule the center should be finished within a month!
I'll be updating you as the plan plays out...:)
all my best,
Jill
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Final Days in Biga
Dear Friends,
I write to you today from my house in New Hampshire. After three weeks in Biga, I feel energized and hopeful about the construction of the center, and inspired by good people who will be the leaders, teachers, and truly the life of the center the years to come.
My final days in Biga were bitter-sweet; bitter because I would have to leave my friends there again soon, and because there were still so many more people who I hadn't had a chance to see. Sweet because I felt that we had accomplished a lot in my short time there, and that we were beginning to see community support in very concrete ways.
On Friday, the municipality sent workers to clean our site and to move some materials into the center:
Also on Friday, Ayfer Baykal and I met with Omer Kucuk to make a concrete and realistic building plan. With knowledge of when supplies are going to come and how long each step will take, we determined that the center construction will be finished by the end of September.
There were difficult times during my visit; supplies did not arrive on time and some local promises of support were left unfulfilled; the building did not physically change while I was there. But, through hard work and optimism, we were able to accomplish a lot. We hired a builder, we ordered supplies, we found in-kind support from some wonderful local businesses. We pulled more and more people on-board. We brought in business people to support equal education for children from poorer families, found women who wanted to help other women come together and become economically and socially empowered, and told everyone we could about the center and the many possibilities it holds for improving the futures of Biga women and children.
I write to you today from my house in New Hampshire. After three weeks in Biga, I feel energized and hopeful about the construction of the center, and inspired by good people who will be the leaders, teachers, and truly the life of the center the years to come.
My final days in Biga were bitter-sweet; bitter because I would have to leave my friends there again soon, and because there were still so many more people who I hadn't had a chance to see. Sweet because I felt that we had accomplished a lot in my short time there, and that we were beginning to see community support in very concrete ways.
Last Thursday, Ayfer and I met with representatives from Dogtas to measure out the dimensions of the kitchen and women's classroom, and to match our needs with their product options:
On Friday, the municipality sent workers to clean our site and to move some materials into the center:
Also on Friday, Ayfer Baykal and I met with Omer Kucuk to make a concrete and realistic building plan. With knowledge of when supplies are going to come and how long each step will take, we determined that the center construction will be finished by the end of September.
Final, on Friday at 4pm, the women who will be running the center met with the Biga mayor and local press at the center site. They discussed what this center will mean for the community and how to best equip it with necessary resources, and to disburse those resources into the community.
Though not 100% correct in content, articles in local papers like this one reported the gist of the event:
Finally, also in the last days of my visit, Ayfer Baykal held the second meeting for volunteers and teachers at the Biga Women and Children's Center:
There were difficult times during my visit; supplies did not arrive on time and some local promises of support were left unfulfilled; the building did not physically change while I was there. But, through hard work and optimism, we were able to accomplish a lot. We hired a builder, we ordered supplies, we found in-kind support from some wonderful local businesses. We pulled more and more people on-board. We brought in business people to support equal education for children from poorer families, found women who wanted to help other women come together and become economically and socially empowered, and told everyone we could about the center and the many possibilities it holds for improving the futures of Biga women and children.
We asked for help and found it; we thanked people for their time and they thanked us - BTF especially - for caring about their community.
Even though I am back in the US, I am going to continue to blog in "real-time" with the help of every-other-day emails from Biga - so stay tuned!
Our opening ceremony is now planned for October, and I am going to do everything in my power to get back to Biga for the occasion.
As always, thanks for reading and for supporting!
all my best,
Jill
Friday, August 20, 2010
Second Installment Arrives!
Dear friends,
Again for the sake of transparency, we wanted to share this proof or receipt of the second installment of $14,000 from the Bikad Women's Cooperative:
all my best,
Jill
Again for the sake of transparency, we wanted to share this proof or receipt of the second installment of $14,000 from the Bikad Women's Cooperative:
all my best,
Jill
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Helping Hands in Biga
Hello dear friends!
I write to you on yet another scorching day in Biga. Today was a day of both frustration and success; frustration because our building supplies were supposed to arrive today and did not, and success because we were able to secure some great local support for the center. We have been promised that our supplies will be here tomorrow morning and that our roof will be completed by this weekend, as sandwich panels are quickly installed.
The overwhelming feeling, however, was success! The following local companies are supporting center:
1. Doğtaş, the Biga-based international furniture company, is donating furniture for the center. They will be outfitting us with a brand new refridgerator, a computer desk, a large meeting table, chairs, etc... I will be going with Ayfer Baykal tomorrow to help choose our furniture.
2. The Biga Belediye is supplying the center with soil, as well as tiles for stairs and a front walk-way. They have already supplied the soil:
...and here we are with our builder, Ömer Küçük, picking out the tiles for the stairs:
3. The Sokullu family is giving the tiles for the kitchen and bathroom.
4. Polek Electric is giving the lights/lampposts for the exterior of the cooperative.
Aside from these great gifts, we are trying to find a local company to donate our siding. We are also still struggling to collect money promised to the center from local cooperatives. Of a promised 10,000 TL, we have only collected 1,500 TL in cash and labor.
Finally, I wanted to share with you all that we are having a Bahçe Günü (Garden Day) on Friday at 4pm. This will be a day where the local community works to beautify the exterior of the center. Our plans include planting trees and flowers donated by a local florist, as well as cleaning up the trash on our site. Attendees to include the Biga mayor, the Bikad women's cooperative, the Biga Women and Children's Center teachers and volunteers, and the local press.
Thanks for all the support!!
all my best,
Jill :)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Our Center in the News!
Hello friends!
As I head into my last week here in Biga, I wanted to share with you the following links to see what local papers are reporting on the new center-in-progress:
http://bigagunlugu.com/haberdetay.aspx?haberID=1709
http://www.bigahaber.net/haber/haber_detay.asp?haberID=1211
This week we are planning a "Garden Day" where our team of workers from the municipality will be joined by the women of Bikad and Biga mayor Mehmet Özkan to beautify the surrounding area. A local florist is donating all of the flowers and trees to go around the center, and the municipality is donating soil.
Here is a picture from our meeting at the Biga Belediye today:
Jill
As I head into my last week here in Biga, I wanted to share with you the following links to see what local papers are reporting on the new center-in-progress:
http://bigagunlugu.com/haberdetay.aspx?haberID=1709
http://www.bigahaber.net/haber/haber_detay.asp?haberID=1211
This week we are planning a "Garden Day" where our team of workers from the municipality will be joined by the women of Bikad and Biga mayor Mehmet Özkan to beautify the surrounding area. A local florist is donating all of the flowers and trees to go around the center, and the municipality is donating soil.
Here is a picture from our meeting at the Biga Belediye today:
(L-R, Ayfer Baykal, Biga Mayor Mehmet Özkan, and me)
It is also worth mentioning that these great people are all working hard while fasting for Ramazan in extreme heat. Allah kabul etsin!
Jill
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The First Meeting of Teachers and Volunteers
Dear Friends:
I have lots to report! In these first days of Ramazan, we have accomplished a lot with the help of some special community members.
First, I want to share with you the names of the local firms we will be working with to finish the center. Ömer Küçük is the name of the owner of the building company that will finishing both the interior and exterior of the building. We are getting our supplies through Mert Dermir. We decided to use sandwich panels, which we found to be the best quality. Ömer Bey will be donating paint and the labor of his workers. Mert Demir will be giving us the supplies at-cost or close to that. Today we met with Ömer Bey as well as Mert Demir, see pictures below! Today work will start on the surrounding area - mowing, cleaning, etc...
Secondly, I had the honor of attending the first meeting of the Biga Women and Children's Center teachers and volunteers. The practical issues they spoke about felt like the realization of so many hours of talk and so much good work on the part of BTF, KEDV, etc... This week, for example, they will be travelling in groups of two door-to-door to tell people about the preschool, daycare, and women's courses, ask if they have young children, etc... They talked at length about exactly how to present the center, how to ask people about their financial needs, about what courses the women of the house would be interested in entering.
Above all else, the women decided that what was important was that the women themselves - the families themselves - are able to express what THEY want and need. Otherwise the center will not be useful. Ayfer ablam told a story to the group that she heard at a national meeting of women's cooperatives: Some women in the southeast decided to apply for grant money to bring water infrastructure into the villages so that the local women there would not have to continually bring water with buckets everyday. They were thrilled when they received the grant money. But when they went to the village women with the news, the women were very upset. 'Going to get water was the only time we were able to leave the house and meet up with other women,' they said. Because the grant-writers hadn't consulted the local women on their needs and desires first, they thought they were filling a community need when in fact they were taking away invaluable social space for women. Let's not repeat their mistake here, says Ayfer!
all my best,
Jill
1. L-R Hanife, Ayfer, and Ayse of Bikad Coop, and Ömer Küçük, our builder.
2. Suzen, Ayfer and me. These were the two women I worked with at the Bikad restaurant for my ten months in Turkey. During my visit I spent lunch time there to help out a bit during Ramazan - though mostly I'm just there to visit with friends!
3. The first meeting of teachers and volunteers for the Bikad Women and Children's Center.
4. Ayse and Ayfer looking over prices for building materials at Bikad Restaurant.
I have lots to report! In these first days of Ramazan, we have accomplished a lot with the help of some special community members.
First, I want to share with you the names of the local firms we will be working with to finish the center. Ömer Küçük is the name of the owner of the building company that will finishing both the interior and exterior of the building. We are getting our supplies through Mert Dermir. We decided to use sandwich panels, which we found to be the best quality. Ömer Bey will be donating paint and the labor of his workers. Mert Demir will be giving us the supplies at-cost or close to that. Today we met with Ömer Bey as well as Mert Demir, see pictures below! Today work will start on the surrounding area - mowing, cleaning, etc...
Secondly, I had the honor of attending the first meeting of the Biga Women and Children's Center teachers and volunteers. The practical issues they spoke about felt like the realization of so many hours of talk and so much good work on the part of BTF, KEDV, etc... This week, for example, they will be travelling in groups of two door-to-door to tell people about the preschool, daycare, and women's courses, ask if they have young children, etc... They talked at length about exactly how to present the center, how to ask people about their financial needs, about what courses the women of the house would be interested in entering.
Above all else, the women decided that what was important was that the women themselves - the families themselves - are able to express what THEY want and need. Otherwise the center will not be useful. Ayfer ablam told a story to the group that she heard at a national meeting of women's cooperatives: Some women in the southeast decided to apply for grant money to bring water infrastructure into the villages so that the local women there would not have to continually bring water with buckets everyday. They were thrilled when they received the grant money. But when they went to the village women with the news, the women were very upset. 'Going to get water was the only time we were able to leave the house and meet up with other women,' they said. Because the grant-writers hadn't consulted the local women on their needs and desires first, they thought they were filling a community need when in fact they were taking away invaluable social space for women. Let's not repeat their mistake here, says Ayfer!
all my best,
Jill
1. L-R Hanife, Ayfer, and Ayse of Bikad Coop, and Ömer Küçük, our builder.
2. Suzen, Ayfer and me. These were the two women I worked with at the Bikad restaurant for my ten months in Turkey. During my visit I spent lunch time there to help out a bit during Ramazan - though mostly I'm just there to visit with friends!
3. The first meeting of teachers and volunteers for the Bikad Women and Children's Center.
4. Ayse and Ayfer looking over prices for building materials at Bikad Restaurant.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Roof Shopping!
Sevgili Arkadaşlar,
Today we shopped for roofing materials. Below, you can see pictures of Ayse Sokullu, Ayse Temiztas, Ayfer Baykal and myself looking at "sandwich panels" in a local building materials shop.
We learned a lot! Before we were considering three different options: 1. galvanized steel panels, 2. "sandwich"/foam filled panels, and 3. shingles. Galvanized steel panels came with the donated building but they are in very poor condition. They are also the lowest quality of the three options. We are now comparison shopping betwen the sandwich panels and shingles.
As Ayse Temiztas said today, "I learned a lot today! We always say, 'oh isn´t it great that the cooperative women are doing new things, learning new things.' But we (the board members) are doing new things and learning a lot all the time too." Besides Ayse Sokullu - whose family owns a building company - none of us had ever been to a lumber yard before!
The roof building should hopefully start by the end of the week!
all my best,
Jill
1. L-R Ayfer Baykal, Ayse Sokullu, and Ayse Temiztas at the lumber yard:
2. Myself and Ayse Temiztas:
3. Looking at the sandwich panels:
Today we shopped for roofing materials. Below, you can see pictures of Ayse Sokullu, Ayse Temiztas, Ayfer Baykal and myself looking at "sandwich panels" in a local building materials shop.
We learned a lot! Before we were considering three different options: 1. galvanized steel panels, 2. "sandwich"/foam filled panels, and 3. shingles. Galvanized steel panels came with the donated building but they are in very poor condition. They are also the lowest quality of the three options. We are now comparison shopping betwen the sandwich panels and shingles.
As Ayse Temiztas said today, "I learned a lot today! We always say, 'oh isn´t it great that the cooperative women are doing new things, learning new things.' But we (the board members) are doing new things and learning a lot all the time too." Besides Ayse Sokullu - whose family owns a building company - none of us had ever been to a lumber yard before!
The roof building should hopefully start by the end of the week!
all my best,
Jill
1. L-R Ayfer Baykal, Ayse Sokullu, and Ayse Temiztas at the lumber yard:
2. Myself and Ayse Temiztas:
3. Looking at the sandwich panels:
Friday, August 6, 2010
New Pictures from Biga
Dear friends,
I am happy to say that I write you all today from Biga! I arrived yesterday evening from Istanbul on the ferry from Yenikapı and am now happily reunited with my Turkısh friends and "family!"
Ayse Sokullu (my host mother and a Bikad-cooperative co-founder) and I spent the day gathering and skanning receipts from the past month to send to the good folks at the Bridge to Turkiye Fund. We are now all caught up with documenting what work was done with the first $10,000 instalment, including:
-Dismantling the prefabricated building in Golcuk
-Transporting the building from Golcuk to Biga
-Installing a plumbing system
-Building permit
-The first two months of property rent
Our next steps include the following:
-Deciding on a type of siding (wood, plastic, etc....) and construction of siding
-Deciding on a type of roof shingles and construction of roof
-Landscaping for the outside of the center
-Fixing up the inside of the center (walls & floor)
Below I´ve shared some new pictures of the center-in-progress:
1. The center is positioned between two lower-income neighborhoods. Women and children from these neighborhoods will be able to walk easily to the center from their houses.
3. The view from one side of the center. Note that this siding will be covered:
4. The view out one of the center´s front windows:
5. This is one of two large rooms that will be used for children´s classrooms and daycare:
6. This is one of two large rooms that will be used for women`s classrooms, office space, and/or social space.
7. The other view of the center:
8. The view from the back of the center:
Thanks so much for reading!
I am happy to say that I write you all today from Biga! I arrived yesterday evening from Istanbul on the ferry from Yenikapı and am now happily reunited with my Turkısh friends and "family!"
Ayse Sokullu (my host mother and a Bikad-cooperative co-founder) and I spent the day gathering and skanning receipts from the past month to send to the good folks at the Bridge to Turkiye Fund. We are now all caught up with documenting what work was done with the first $10,000 instalment, including:
-Dismantling the prefabricated building in Golcuk
-Transporting the building from Golcuk to Biga
-Installing a plumbing system
-Building permit
-The first two months of property rent
Our next steps include the following:
-Deciding on a type of siding (wood, plastic, etc....) and construction of siding
-Deciding on a type of roof shingles and construction of roof
-Landscaping for the outside of the center
-Fixing up the inside of the center (walls & floor)
Below I´ve shared some new pictures of the center-in-progress:
1. The center is positioned between two lower-income neighborhoods. Women and children from these neighborhoods will be able to walk easily to the center from their houses.
3. The view from one side of the center. Note that this siding will be covered:
4. The view out one of the center´s front windows:
5. This is one of two large rooms that will be used for children´s classrooms and daycare:
6. This is one of two large rooms that will be used for women`s classrooms, office space, and/or social space.
7. The other view of the center:
8. The view from the back of the center:
Thanks so much for reading!
all my best,
Jill
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Off I go...
Hello all!
This evening I'll begin my long-awaited journey back to Turkiye. I'll be in Biga Thursday, where I'll stay for several weeks as I document the building and opening of the Biga Women and Children's Center. I'll be taking pictures and filming this exciting process, as well as sending you all frequent updates.
Thanks for all of your support that has gotten us thus far...check back in regularly to see the fruits of your labors! :)
all my best,
Jill
This evening I'll begin my long-awaited journey back to Turkiye. I'll be in Biga Thursday, where I'll stay for several weeks as I document the building and opening of the Biga Women and Children's Center. I'll be taking pictures and filming this exciting process, as well as sending you all frequent updates.
Thanks for all of your support that has gotten us thus far...check back in regularly to see the fruits of your labors! :)
all my best,
Jill
Sunday, August 1, 2010
First Receipt of Funds...
Dear friends,
Yesterday we at BTF received this "Bagis Makbuzu" or "Charity Receipt" from Biga. It tells us that the Biga Women's Cooperative has received 15,545 Turkish Lira (TL) ($10,000) from BTF!
As most of you know, our full budget for this project is $35,000, or 52,731 TL. We are releasing these funds in installments of $10,000 at different strategic points in the building process, e.g. building transportation, center construction, etc... We released the first $10,000 in early spring, and we are set to release another $10,000 this week, provided that the necessary documentation is all set!
I'm all packed with my passport ready to go on Tuesday. I'll most likely be arriving in Biga Thursday morning and cannot wait to see my friends then!
all my best & thanks for reading,
Jill
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