Prof. Ayşe Yüksel, who has dedicated her life to education much like Türkan Saylan, spoke with Hande Zeyrek from the Sözcü Newspaper.

Prof. Ayşe Yüksel states that, “Every educated woman is indebted to this country.”

Prof. Ayşe Yüksel, who has dedicated her life to education much like Türkan Saylan, spoke with Hande Zeyrek from the Sözcü Newspaper.

Prof. Yüksel whom Türkan Saylan called her daughter, now leads ÇYDD (The Association for Supporting Contemporary Life) and she is paying her debt to the Republic using her motto ‘educated women are indebted to this county‘ at every step of the way.

Prof. Türkan Saylan professed that, “If somewhere a child longing for science, democracy, peace and enlightenment awaits your light, you have no right to extinguish that light.  You will shine, even if there is only seconds to death….”

ÇYDD which Prof. Saylan helped found and was the President for 19 years did not let its light go out even for a short period of time in the past 31 years. Over 100 000 students in need received scholarships. Not only were high school and university students given financial aid but their lives and personal development were positively impacted.

Prof. Ayşe Yüksel who worked together with Prof. Saylan at the Leprosy Hospital is now the President of ÇYDD.  I asked her about the successes the ÇYDD scholarship students have achieved and the activities of the association.

THERE IS UNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY

“Up until now ÇYDD provided education to youth who are self-sufficient, working for their family and country and building their own future. We are proud of what we have done and we will continue on our path. We matured by what Türkan Saylan Hoca always told us: ‘Every educated woman is indebted to this country.’ We received an education in this country and we are working hard to pay back our debt to the Republic. There is something to do for everyone.” Ayşe Yüksel continued on to say that this year, due to the pandemic, there is going to be more students who will need scholarships.

“The disease causing corona virus has created an economic crisis all over the world. There is unemployment and poverty. The number of students applying for scholarships will increase.  We will need new resources,” said Yüksel.

“Our biggest responsibility is to provide scholarships to students in need of financial support in 81 provinces of our country, especially in the ones that have priority in development. We started by giving 50 students scholarships in Istanbul in 1995 and since then we helped over 37000 students graduate from university. On average 8000 university students receive scholarships at a time.  All this is accomplished thanks to donations.”

THERE SHOULD BE JOB CREATION FOR YOUTH

“The quality of education is suffering in Turkey.  Focus is on religious education. We defend scientific and contemporary education following Atatürk’s principles and reforms. It is our belief that providing this is the duty of the State. Turkey needs scientific minded youth. There should be job creation for youth in new areas.”

WE GAVE SCHOLARSHIPS TO 97000 FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Here is what Prof. Yüksel expressed about giving support for the education of female students.

“In 1997 we started a project called ‘I Have a Daughter in Anatolia and She Will Become a Teacher’. With this project, over the years we have given scholarships to over 97000 female high school students. If these girls entered university their scholarships were continued.  We also have projects that help our scholarship students to improve themselves personally.

The 21st century is going to be a century of science and technology. This is why we support our scholarship students with personal development projects also. Last year 42000 students applied for scholarships but we could only help 2000 of them. ÇYDD will continue to work for many more years, following Atatürk’s principles and understanding of education to bring the country to a contemporary level of development with contemporary education.”