Send More Girls to School!

Dear TPF Donors,

Thanks to you, hundreds of students are still in school today — continuing their education, rebuilding their confidence, and holding on to their dreams.

In the 2025–2026 academic year, every one of the 659 earthquake-affected students you support at CYDD kept moving forward — 484 are still in the classroom, and 175 have already crossed the graduation stage. Not one was left behind.

• University students: 135 supported — 84 (62%) earned their degree this year, and 51 are continuing toward theirs.
• Secondary school students: 451 supported — 407 (90%) are still in school, and 44 have graduated.
• Orphaned students: 31 supported, each carrying more than most children ever will — 24 are continuing their secondary education, 7 have graduated, and 2 have gone on to begin university.
• High school students: 40 walked across the graduation stage this year — the finish line of a race that started in the rubble of an earthquake.

175 graduations. 484 students still climbing toward theirs. Every number on this page is a young person who, because of you, gets to keep going.

Your support is helping prevent dropouts, ease financial strain on families, and keep educational pathways open — even under the most difficult conditions. THANK YOU!

Warmest Regards,

Team TPF

Voices of Students

A High School Scholarship Recipient

“I was born on May 30, 2010, and I am a 10th-grade student. We are a small, close-knit family. My mother is a elementary school graduate and she does not work. My father passed away when I was five years old. I have two older brothers; my brother Sinan graduated this year from Karadeniz Technical University's Computer Engineering program, and my brother Erkan started a two-year Graphic Design program at Mustafa Kemal University this year.

In November 2017, I was diagnosed with kidney disease caused by a Wilms tumor. I underwent nine weeks of chemotherapy followed by surgery, in which one of my kidneys was removed, and then continued chemotherapy for another 24 weeks. Thank God, my treatment was successful, and my check-ups continue on a regular basis.

Just as things seemed to be going well, one night our lives changed again: our home was severely damaged in the earthquake, and we no longer had anywhere to stay. Thank God, my mother, my brothers, and I all made it out safely. After three days outdoors, we were sheltered in a teacher's guesthouse in the Tarsus district of Mersin, and later moved to a boarding dormitory. I am continuing my education, and my family and I are working together to hold on to life.

We are so grateful for the support you have given us.”

A University Scholarship Recipient

“I have moved up to my 4th year in the Interior Architecture Department at Selçuk University in Konya. Another difficult stretch awaits me, and I want to thank you, first of all, for standing by me through this hard period. I lost my cousins in the earthquake — that is when I first came to know you, though I wish we had met under happier circumstances. Two months later, I lost my father as well.

Because of how demanding and costly my program is, I needed a scholarship. With my father gone, I no longer had anyone to turn to for financial help, and I did not want to become a burden to my mother. Thanks to the scholarship you have given me, I am at least able to cover my dormitory fees. Thank you so much.

My dream is to make a name for myself through my own work and to be known for what I accomplish. Once I am in a good position, I want to give scholarships to as many students as I can, just as you have done for me. I would also love the chance to go abroad one day. Seeing my family live comfortably is among my greatest hopes.”

A University Scholarship Recipient

“I want to say how much the scholarship you provide every year has helped with my school expenses, and I am so grateful for it. Your support brings great relief to our family during such a difficult economic period. My father does everything he can, but he cannot keep up, because all three of us sisters are studying at university.

We lost our mother ten months ago, which was an exhausting, difficult time for all of us, and we have not yet moved past its effects. Our home was also damaged in the Kahramanmaras earthquake, which has made my family's financial burden even heavier. I hope I can benefit from your scholarship again this year and complete my fifth year successfully as well.

One of my greatest hopes is that, when I become a physician one day, I will be a woman doctor who, like you, volunteers to give scholarships to others. With respect and gratitude.”

A University Scholarship Recipient

“I was born in 2001 in Mardin. I completed my primary and secondary schooling in a small village, in a mixed-grade classroom with a single teacher. Village life was peaceful, but I always dreamed of studying and becoming a doctor. I pushed myself as hard as I could, working through the same problem sets over and over since we could not afford new books, and I memorized my storybooks from cover to cover through repeated reading.

On the 8th-grade placement exam, I scored very well compared to other students from my village, and new doors began to open for me. For high school, I left my family and moved to Diyarbakr to continue my education. I was still young, and at first I struggled to adjust from village life to city life and found it psychologically very difficult — but it was my dreams that kept me going. I always made my studies my priority, worked hard, and ultimately ranked well enough to comfortably gain admission to the program I wanted.

Because our finances could not support another move, and because I doubted I could adjust to yet another new city, I decided to stay in Diyarbakr. I am now a 6th-year student at Dicle University's Faculty of Medicine, and I feel a deep sense of peace in living out my dreams and adding new goals to them.

During a very difficult period in my life, I came to know ÇYDD (the Association for Supporting Contemporary Life), and for the past two and a half years you have stood by me in every way, materially and emotionally — I thank each of you individually. When I become a doctor, I will consider it my duty to support children like myself. Touching someone's life is such a precious thing. I am so grateful for all of you.”