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The foundation established by Şahhanım Kanat five years ago has worked with over 10 thousand children and family members up to date. Many children discover their talents and new worlds during the activities.
With the foundation that she established in the memory of her daughter, Şahhanım Kanat makes a change in the lives of poor children. Some of them have already become professional artists! İSTANBUL - Başak Culture and Art Foundation was opened in Kayışdağı,İstanbul in 2002. Its aim is to empower poor, deprived and migrated children and youth to solve their problems and express themselves freely through the use of art. Its activities target protection, prevention and are educational and creative. August 22nd marked the fifth year anniversary of the foundation. We got together with Şahhanım Kanat, who lost her daugher Helin Başak in 1994 when she was only 18 years old, and established the foundation in her memory. Vakıf 22 Ağustos itibariyle beş yılı geri bıraktı. Başak Kültür ve Sanat Vakfı’nın kurucusu Şahhanım Kanat, henüz 18 yaşındayken, 1994’te kaybettiği kızı Helin Başak’ın anısını yaşatmak için kurmuş vakfı. Kanat’la Başak Kültür ve Sanat Vakfı hikayesini konuştuk. How did you establish the foundation?
We lost Helin Başak in 1994, when she was only 18 years old. Those were the years when internal migration was experienced most intensely. We've grown used to them by now but those days we saw for the first time children selling water on the streets and taking on economic responsibilities at a very early age. Mass migrations continued and forced to leave a whole past people tried to settle in the big urban centers. Children suffered the worst of it. The images of those days, which got worse over time, led us to this foundation. We conducted a field study with people who migrated to İstanbul and settled in the slums. The study included 85 families, 189 children and youth and included observations regarding the workplace, public sphere and private life. Our aims are based on these demands.. How many children have you worked with?
Up to date we have worked with over 10 thousand children and family members. We produced rehabilitation projects in nine districts and had meetings with 500 families and 2500 children. Based on the results of these rehabilitation projects we established vocational training courses. We observed that children and the youth that work in textile ateliers suffer from inadequate hygiene conditions and established in-depth projects towards this aim. How do children change as they discover their talents?
Children are not aware of their talents and recognize them when they join the activities. We have a nine year old participant who is taking violin lessons in the conservatory. That participant is the child of an internally displaced family and was not aware of her talent before she joined us. We observe that as children discover their talents, these activities help their mental development, teach them team work, develop their creativity and imagination and increase success in their schoolwork. The families show reaction because this is not what they expect from their children. They want their children to earn money so they would rather have their children attend math or English courses. Young boys and girls who could not continue their education work in hard conditions and find breathing space in the foundation. Are there age restrictions for participants?
Overall, we teach music, drawing, dance, theater,drama and vocational courses to an age group ranging from five to thirty. We also have a project on developing handicrafts into an income-generating talent. There is high demand for jewelery design courses. Currently, our Portugese friend is teaching the course. We also have youth exchange programs where the age limit is thirty. In 2006 we sent 10 young people to Scotland including a textile worker, housewife and university student. It was hard to obtain the permission of the families. Some of the girls were afraid to go outside. The 11 day long trip was the most important excitement of their lives. This year we hosted the group from Scotland. On the 5th of September we are sending them to Italy. Five volunteers from Greece, Italy, France, Austria and Portugal are currently working at the foundation. One of the young people in the Italy group was an elementary school drop-out who worked in textile. We encouraged him to complete his degree through distance-education and now he is on his way to Italy... As you are nearing the end of five years what moments are the most signficant ones for you?
A girl who wasn't able to leave the house before today signs with the Bogaziçi Performance Arts Group. She is an elemantary school graduate who attended the vocational trainings. This is when we discovered her voice. She was a guest student at the Istanbul conservatory for a year and is currently attending Duygu Dalgıç Music School. She went to Scotland twice. When she first came to the foundation her family made her attend the courses with her brother! The family went through a significant transition as well. 25/08/2008
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