TOÇEV Launches "Liberated Hopes" Project

TOÇEV (Tüvana Okuma İstekli Çocuk Eğitim Vakfı) is launching the "Free Your Hope" Project to meet the basic needs of children aged 0-6 living with their mothers in penal institutions and to strengthen mothers' dialogue and parenting practices with their children. At a press conference held on 4 September 2019 at Radisson Blu Hotel Istanbul Şişli, information about the project was shared with the press by the Ministry of Justice, TOÇEV and Antigone. The "Free Your Hope" project, financed by the EU within the scope of the Fifth Phase of the Civil Society Dialogue Grant Programme between Turkey and the EU (CSD-V) and implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice Directorate General of Prisons and Detention Houses and ANTIGONE, will run for 15 months. The project aims to meet the basic needs of children living with their mothers in penal institutions, develop play areas where children can use their energy appropriately, and strengthen mothers' dialogue and parenting practices with their children. The "Free Your Hope" project will be implemented this year at Sivas Women's Open Prison, Kayseri Bünyan Women's Closed Prison, Adana Karataş Women's Open Prison, Mersin Tarsus Women's Closed Prison, Kocaeli Hendek Women's Open Prison, Bursa Yenişehir Women's Closed Prison, Balıkesir Ayvalık Women's Open Prison.

TOÇEV Board Chairman Ebru UYGUN said in her speech at the press conference, "Twenty-five years ago, TOÇEV set out by saying 'Every Child Has the Right to Read.' We aimed for children to receive education under equal conditions and to have equal rights.

For 25 years we have continued with this goal, producing projects on different subjects and striving to serve our children. As we continue to work for our children, we also draw strength from our project partners who support our projects. We are very pleased that our "Free Your Hope" project, financed by the EU within the scope of the Civil Society Dialogue Grant Programme between Turkey and the EU (CSD-V), is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Justice Directorate General of Prisons and Detention Houses and Antigone." The Project Coordinator speaking on behalf of ANTIGONE at the meeting said: "We are very pleased to be part of the 'Free Your Hope' project as a partner with TOÇEV. Good practices regarding children staying alongside their mothers within the prison system in Greece, and examples of work on mothering skills for mothers, we will share in an applied manner within the scope of the project with our stakeholders, discuss and develop together. Thus, how we can achieve better results both in Turkey's and Greece's system, what we can do for both children and mothers, how we can improve ourselves—we will work on these with diligence and sensitivity. At the end of our project, an output will be created and we will also present it as a tool for developing policy within the justice system in our own country. Here too, together with our counterparts in Greece, how they conduct work, what we do in Greece, what they do in Turkey, what projects they develop, how they overcome difficulties they face—we will share all of these together and then try to reach a common solution point. This excites us very much."