We are in the process of translating the articles related to our Foundation which have appeared in press during 2006.

The Women of the Republic Association (CKD) and the Foundation for the Training and the Protection of Handicapped Children (ZİÇEV) jointly organized a short story competition among mothers and family members of handicapped children; the short stories which received awards and those chosen worthy of publication were published in a book, “Hold My Hand”. These short stories, published in this 231 page book, as a CKD publication, were all written by mothers of handicapped children. Şenal Sarıhan, the President of CKD, who has contributed the Introduction for this book, titled “Sorrows on the Wings of Migrant Birds”, stated, " ‘Hold My Hand’ is the second book published with the objective of encouraging women to write about their own problems and search for solutions. In the first book, published under the title of “Women’s Stories”, we find life stories of women who were taking their very first steps as authors. This book recounts the sorrows and pains of our handicapped children, bearing their weight specifically on mothers. One other Introduction in this book, “They Spoke”, is by Ülay Karakoç, who is the President of ZİÇEV. The book starts with the short stories, in the order of winners, of first place winner Müge Konor’s “A Rememberance”; second place winner Ayla Tan’s “Arda Tan”; third place winner Özlem Başaral’s “The Sorrows of Seven Lives in Exile”. It continues with others, a total of 37 short stories, on life experiences as shared with readers.

The results of the Short Story Competition among Family Members of Handicapped Children have been announced. The first Place winner is Müge Konor; the second place winner is Ayla Tan. In these heart wrenching short stories that received awards and recognition, we find first hand recounts of the long, painful and, tearful struggles of mothers who are totally dedicated to enabling their handicapped children cling to life.

Ata Özer, the Director General of Education of the Province of Istanbul, stated: “We plan to start a special school for the the mentally handicapped children, furbished with Workshops, to make it possible for them to continue with their training and education no matter what age they are, after the age of 18”.