“Stronger Tomorrows, Stronger Women” Project Completed

The “Stronger Tomorrows, Stronger Women Project,” launched by the Women and Democracy Foundation (KADEM) following the February 6, 2023 earthquakes, was completed with a closing program held in Hatay. Eight of the 64 women who participated in the trainings cooked for renowned chefs and guests during the event and were evaluated accordingly. Awards and certificates were presented to the women who achieved top rankings.

The closing program took place in the application kitchen of the Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Department at İskenderun Technical University (İSTE). As part of the project, women who became familiar with national and international gastronomy cultures presented the local dishes they prepared after their training to the jury. KADEM Chairwoman Atty. Dr. Canan Sarı, along with chefs Yunus Emre Akkor, Ebru Baybara Demir, and Hatice Özdemir Tülün, evaluated the dishes and selected the top-ranking participants.

As a result of the evaluations, Hatice Kadıoğlu won first place, Elif Canser Perk came second, and İlknur Alkaya placed third.

“This project gave us hope after the earthquake”

The women shared their feelings after the competition, expressing their satisfaction with the project:

“We’re so glad we met KADEM. After the earthquake, we were hopeless; we had lost our homes and were living in container shelters. KADEM supported us, and thanks to this project, we reconnected with life. Now, we’ve reached a level where we can run our own businesses. We made wonderful friendships during this process. The earthquake shattered our dreams, but we made it again. It’s amazing to have such training in the earthquake zone. It helped us tremendously psychologically. It also helped my family—my husband and children—emotionally. No one should lose hope.”

“We were on the ground to help women regain their strength”

The program continued at the Orange Hall on the İSTE campus. A KADEM activity film was screened, followed by a speech from KADEM Chairwoman Atty. Dr. Canan Sarı.

Highlighting KADEM’s active work in the field after the earthquake, Sarı said:

“With our Support Centers for Women, we have reached 12,745 women to date and conducted 628 workshops. We provided 4,950 hours of training, offered psychological support to 1,498 women, and helped 63 women gain employment. To women affected by the earthquake and facing social and economic challenges, we said, ‘You are not alone; we will succeed together.’ And this did not remain just a promise. With our determination, the women’s commitment, and the support of our partners, this project came to life. As part of the project, we trained 40 women in Kahramanmaraş and 24 in İskenderun. We opened cooking and ceramics workshops. We strengthened the psychological resilience of 175 women in Kahramanmaraş and 211 in İskenderun. We held seminars. A total of 64 women attended e-commerce, entrepreneurship, and gastronomy trainings. We opened five workshops focusing on local gastronomy. We also included 23 women living in container cities in the project. This was very important to us because ensuring the participation of women living far from the city center in social life was a key focus.”

Sarı concluded her speech with the words:

Messages of Support from Partners

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Turan, Vice Rector of Hatay Mustafa Kemal University (HMKÜ), stated that the training provided women with self-confidence and professional competencies.
ISTE Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Erdoğan Kanca expressed his satisfaction with the new skills the women acquired through the project.