Say Yes, Summer 2004: Editorial

As the clock runs down towards the start of the new school year in mid-September 2004, excitement is growing that the Haydi Kızlar Okula! campaign will reach new heights of success this year.

The goal is to get 300,000 extra girls enrolled in primary school which would halve the current numbers. The remaining 300,000 will be the target of the 2005 campaign.

This issue describes many of the initiatives under way to ensure the success of the campaign and highlights the fact that success can only be achieved with help from all sectors of society. True, the Ministry of National Education (MONE), with support from UNICEF, is in the forefront, but many other ministries, institutions and non-governmental bodies are also involved. Some of the most significant strides are even made by individuals. I always find it heart-warming when I hear of creative ideas emerging from various parts of the community. Here are a few examples of such initiatives which I think are worthy of special mention:

• The school in İstanbul whose students raised TL 5 billion for the campaign -- this money can be used to deploy two prefabricated classrooms where they are needed.
• The District Governor in Erzurum who came up with the idea of rewarding families who send their girls to school with beehives -- a potential source of income.
• The District Governor in Ağrı, who suggested that an effective way of identifying children who are out-of-school would be to ask children in school to list friends who are not attending so that teachers could then follow-up with the families.
• The Mayor of Adana who decided to provide free public transport to volunteers visiting the homes of families in order to persuade them to send their girls to school.

There are many more stories such as these which highlight the ground-level enthusiasm and creativity driving Haydi Kızlar Okula! towards what I am confident will be a real success story.

Such examples serve to inspire and motivate everyone involved as we enter the crucial final days of the campaign.

Edmond McLoughney
UNICEF Representative, Turkey

PS: We’d very much like to hear readers reactions to this issue, so please feel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions.

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