GwB
Alternatif Yaşam Derneği (Alternative Life Foundation) carries out project with grants from Empower Foundation and support from Ministry of Family and Social Policy, Directorate General of Child Services in Dreams Academy-Kaş Facilities. Within the scope of the project, which welcomes collaboration from related non-governmental organizations, local authorities and private sector, young girls from different ethnic groups, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds come together for periods of one week and live through the experience.
The Project aims at strengthening personal characteristics those are at risk of being weakened during adolescence such as openness, self-confidence, decisiveness, and sense of self through awareness. Weekly programs are structured to enable all participants to experience self-realization by personally practicing self-development, direct feedback and capacity awareness.
The project focuses on adolescence, as it is the period in which young girls face significant deprivation in self-confidence. The main objective is to help young girls utilize these hardships they face during this period to gain courage for becoming aware of their strength and expressing their needs.
UNDERLYING PURPOSES OF THIS PROGRAM ARE AS FOLLOWS: SELF-DEVELOPMENT, ABILITY OF EXPRESSION IN SOCIETY, REALIZING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT THROUGH SPORTIVE ACTIVITIES IN NATURE, CREATING ARTWORK AND WORKING IN TEAMS.
Within the scope of this project, young girls, especially with social disadvantages, from different ethnic groups and socio-economic backgrounds, come together to explore personal aspects that make them special, the importance of respecting, living and working with “the other”.
Additionally, girls will learn how to defeat challenges they may face during adolescence and grow stronger out of this period. They will also learn to use these experiences to make important decisions on education and career, and choices on arts and sports in the future. Furthermore, they will be able to seek advice from their role models who supported this program by volunteering.
What does Girls without Barriers dream of changing?
Girls without Barriers aims at helping young girls who experience inequality of opportunity and/or girls under risk explore their own strength and potential through activities designed to improve physical development and bring in basic skills for personal development. Girls who have discovered their own strength can better reach success that they define for themselves.
Coupled with self-awareness and recognition of inner potential, girls express themselves better with their self-confidence and self-respect increased and communication skills improved. In addition to personal outcomes, these developments on young girls are reflected on society and create a positive transformation in the long run.
The theory of transformation has four main elements to be developed. Developing these elements will enable one to improve physically, mentally and intellectually through revealing personal strength and capacity.
Body: Awareness on body, healthy living (physical activity-nutrition), basic sexual health and hygiene
Soul: Personality, courage, entrepreneurship, inner and external coherence
Intellect: General knowledge and culture (education-literacy), sustainability, volunteerism, consciousness, world-view, gender mainstreaming
Talent: Passion, ambition and skills, willingness to create/produce, tutoring, dedication, new identity
