Clearday-TRForce
08-15-2006, 03:22 AM
BY: JANET DERY, Associate Editor
Jim and Jane Wolf meet some of the street children of Turkey who receive help from a children’s center. The girls are dressed in traditional Turkish costumes.
Thousands of children, some as young as 5, work the streets of Turkey's cities.
They can be seen rifling through garbage, shining shoes, and selling whatever they can, according to a 2004 report by the US Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
Some parents force their children to work, often relying on them to provide the family's financial support. (The national unemployment rate is estimated at 10%.) Other children seek refuge on the streets from an abusive situation at home.
About a year ago, Shaker Heights resident James Wolf Jr. became involved with a project to assist vulnerable children in Turkey. Impressed with the efforts of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, or Joint, in many of the world's troubled places, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Argentina, Russia and Israel, Wolf, 78, knew he wanted to help. He just wasn't sure where.
To help him decide, Wolf, his wife Jane, and Chip Edelsberg, former vice president and director of endowments and foundations at the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, met with Dr. Will Recant, assistant executive vice president in charge of non-sectarian and disaster relief programs for the Joint.
"We said we would fund a project for the Joint,” relates Wolf in a recent CJN phone interview. "They could pick it anywhere in the world. There would only be one caveat - if we're going to fund it, we're going to see it.”
In June, accompanied by his wife and their daughter Joan Swain, Wolf journeyed to two cities, Istanbul and Izmir, for five days.
They visited children's centers, referred to as schools, established to provide a safe environment for street kids as well as to educate them and their families.
The family also met with members of the small Turkish Jewish community in the predominantly Muslim country, as well as local government officials and volunteers who work in the centers. Perhaps most meaningful of all, they were able to put faces to some of the children who have benefited from the $50,000 donation made by the Wolf Family Foundation.
The contribution covered the costs of ten computers for two centers, equipment for two recreational therapy rooms, plus salaries for computer/recreational therapy counselors for one year and consultation fees for substance abuse experts to help local professionals.
"The children were very appreciative and very anxious to be with us,” wrote Wolf in his travelogue about their visit to Samandra Children's Center in Istanbul. "They looked directly in our faces, acknowledged our assistance, and tried very hard to make sure that we knew they were grateful for our help.”
The children presented a plaque to Wolf, thanking the Jewish community of Cleveland. They also performed a traditional dance, wearing colorful Turkish costumes.
Approximately 1100 children are currently receiving assistance at the Istanbul center.
Wolf believes that making the trip to Turkey was just as crucial as his monetary gift. "We didn't give very much money, but we showed up,” he says. "That was the important thing.”
Recant thought the idea of Wolf going to Turkey was such a good one, he decided to accompany the family. Traveling with the Joint leader, who has spent time with Fidel Castro and President Bush, was yet another "incredible experience” of the trip, adds Wolf, principal in the accounting firm of Libman Goldstine Kopperman & Wolf.
Reaching out to parents is also a key part of the initiative, explains Wolf, a member of Suburban Temple-Kol Ami. Additionally, the Joint brought in experts from Israel to help train Turkish social workers dealing specifically with street children.
The effect of the Joint's work, says Wolf, is that the agency has "made an impact on the lives of people in Turkey.”
Wolf was amazed by the attention, gratitude, and "mind-boggling” displays of hospitality shown to them by the Turkish people they met. "We were treated like royalty,” he says, adding that "these people had never gotten anything before.”
One incident in particular epitomized the character of the journey. On their way to catch the plane back to Istanbul, their driver told them that he wanted to take the group to his home for tea. This, despite the fact that "we hadn't said one word to him!” marvels Wolf. The group graciously declined, but "people hear what they want to in this country,” says Wolf bemusedly. "Next thing I know, we're going down some back streets. A van pulls up and gives us a large bouquet of flowers!”
Equally appreciative, but far less exuberant, are the relatively few Jews (estimated at about 18,000 nationally) who live among the Muslims. "They keep a very low profile,” explains Wolf, noting that there were synagogue bombings in 2003. "They don't let people know they are Jewish outside their own home. They are scared to death.”
In Izmir, the Muslim woman in charge of the children's center was asked to identify what the school still needed most. "We would like a minibus” in order to transport children to activities, she told the group.
When someone posed the same question to members of the Jewish community, "the only thing they said they needed was security,” says Wolf. These two groups living side by side are "worlds apart.”
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2006/08/12/news/world/aaturkey0811.txt
regards,
CDTRF
Jim and Jane Wolf meet some of the street children of Turkey who receive help from a children’s center. The girls are dressed in traditional Turkish costumes.
Thousands of children, some as young as 5, work the streets of Turkey's cities.
They can be seen rifling through garbage, shining shoes, and selling whatever they can, according to a 2004 report by the US Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
Some parents force their children to work, often relying on them to provide the family's financial support. (The national unemployment rate is estimated at 10%.) Other children seek refuge on the streets from an abusive situation at home.
About a year ago, Shaker Heights resident James Wolf Jr. became involved with a project to assist vulnerable children in Turkey. Impressed with the efforts of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, or Joint, in many of the world's troubled places, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Argentina, Russia and Israel, Wolf, 78, knew he wanted to help. He just wasn't sure where.
To help him decide, Wolf, his wife Jane, and Chip Edelsberg, former vice president and director of endowments and foundations at the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, met with Dr. Will Recant, assistant executive vice president in charge of non-sectarian and disaster relief programs for the Joint.
"We said we would fund a project for the Joint,” relates Wolf in a recent CJN phone interview. "They could pick it anywhere in the world. There would only be one caveat - if we're going to fund it, we're going to see it.”
In June, accompanied by his wife and their daughter Joan Swain, Wolf journeyed to two cities, Istanbul and Izmir, for five days.
They visited children's centers, referred to as schools, established to provide a safe environment for street kids as well as to educate them and their families.
The family also met with members of the small Turkish Jewish community in the predominantly Muslim country, as well as local government officials and volunteers who work in the centers. Perhaps most meaningful of all, they were able to put faces to some of the children who have benefited from the $50,000 donation made by the Wolf Family Foundation.
The contribution covered the costs of ten computers for two centers, equipment for two recreational therapy rooms, plus salaries for computer/recreational therapy counselors for one year and consultation fees for substance abuse experts to help local professionals.
"The children were very appreciative and very anxious to be with us,” wrote Wolf in his travelogue about their visit to Samandra Children's Center in Istanbul. "They looked directly in our faces, acknowledged our assistance, and tried very hard to make sure that we knew they were grateful for our help.”
The children presented a plaque to Wolf, thanking the Jewish community of Cleveland. They also performed a traditional dance, wearing colorful Turkish costumes.
Approximately 1100 children are currently receiving assistance at the Istanbul center.
Wolf believes that making the trip to Turkey was just as crucial as his monetary gift. "We didn't give very much money, but we showed up,” he says. "That was the important thing.”
Recant thought the idea of Wolf going to Turkey was such a good one, he decided to accompany the family. Traveling with the Joint leader, who has spent time with Fidel Castro and President Bush, was yet another "incredible experience” of the trip, adds Wolf, principal in the accounting firm of Libman Goldstine Kopperman & Wolf.
Reaching out to parents is also a key part of the initiative, explains Wolf, a member of Suburban Temple-Kol Ami. Additionally, the Joint brought in experts from Israel to help train Turkish social workers dealing specifically with street children.
The effect of the Joint's work, says Wolf, is that the agency has "made an impact on the lives of people in Turkey.”
Wolf was amazed by the attention, gratitude, and "mind-boggling” displays of hospitality shown to them by the Turkish people they met. "We were treated like royalty,” he says, adding that "these people had never gotten anything before.”
One incident in particular epitomized the character of the journey. On their way to catch the plane back to Istanbul, their driver told them that he wanted to take the group to his home for tea. This, despite the fact that "we hadn't said one word to him!” marvels Wolf. The group graciously declined, but "people hear what they want to in this country,” says Wolf bemusedly. "Next thing I know, we're going down some back streets. A van pulls up and gives us a large bouquet of flowers!”
Equally appreciative, but far less exuberant, are the relatively few Jews (estimated at about 18,000 nationally) who live among the Muslims. "They keep a very low profile,” explains Wolf, noting that there were synagogue bombings in 2003. "They don't let people know they are Jewish outside their own home. They are scared to death.”
In Izmir, the Muslim woman in charge of the children's center was asked to identify what the school still needed most. "We would like a minibus” in order to transport children to activities, she told the group.
When someone posed the same question to members of the Jewish community, "the only thing they said they needed was security,” says Wolf. These two groups living side by side are "worlds apart.”
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2006/08/12/news/world/aaturkey0811.txt
regards,
CDTRF