Vakıf Bank, Antalya Branch, Account Number: 2066583

• Our Mission

The Antalya Branch was founded by Azime Yilmaz and 11 other founding members on December 21, 1989. A group of volunteers, who put their hearts and minds together, set off to establish better living conditions and a rehabilitation center for handicapped children. A two-storey house was rented and renovated with the support and contributions collected. The rehabilation center was opened on Dec. 22, 1990 and started its operation with 24 students and 8 staff members.

Following the initial establishment, we moved to a new location provided by the Muratpaşa Municipality. The new center was constructed with pre-fabricated materials which were provided by support from our donors and benefactors. With this facility, we had the chance to serve more children at our new location. While striving to increase the quality of the education and gathering better educational equipment, the foundations of the permanent center location were laid in October of 1998. The center is expected to be opened this year.

Antalya Special Education and Rehabilitation Center:

In order to determine the education program that a student who has applied to the center would receive, a basic evaluation test is given, with the cooperation of student’s family and friends. After this test, an individual education program is designed started according to the needs of the student. After the conclusion of the individual program, the student gains abilities of controlled, disciplined behaviour and can actively participate in group education programs.

In our rehabilitation center, we serve students with socio-economic deficiency and, in general, without any social security program benefits. A symbolic support for these students is provided by Social Help and Cooperation Foundation (Sosyal Yardımlaşma ve Dayanışma Vakfı).

Currently, 18 staff members are working for the education of 98 mentally handicapped children and youth, in our Branch Center.

Individual education is applied in four different forms:

• A student who joins the center receives one month of individual education. During this period, the student’s education level is assessed, and a planned program of education and its application method are determined. Finally, the work group that the student will be joining is selected.
• After the initial education described above, the student continues to receive personal education and training based on his/her needs, if a group suitable in performance for the student can not be found. Students admitted to a group also continue to receive special individual education according to their programs.
• Since some of the students of our Branch live away from the Municipal Center, these continue to receive individual education as well.
• In cooperation with the National Ministery of Education, students are also taught by their teachers at our three special sub-classes, receiving individual education and rehabilitation support based specifically on their designated programs. Additionally, every student admitted to Group Education, receives individual support based on his/her needs, from a Special Education Teacher, Child Development and Education Teacher, Physiotherapist, Psychologist, Painting-Handcrafts and Works Education Teacher, and Physical Education Teacher.

Students are placed in groups of at most 8 individuals based on their perforamance, ages, and needs. Every group daily practices the education program between 08.30 - 16.00, in seven time slots. A child education expert, a special education teacher, or a child development and education teacher leads the group. The responsibility of the group teacher is to plan the education program according to the needs and levels of the group members and prepare a monthly progress report.

Self Care I, Self Care II and Special Preparation Classes and Daily Living Skills and Galoshes/Overshoes making studio all aim to give education to mentally handicapped children. In these classes, students who learn self-care skills and develop certain psycho-motor abilities with sufficient mental development progress are admitted to the classes of the National Ministry of Education, such as Educatable-I and Educatable-II, based on their age and progress. The children continue to receive individual support from the rehabilitation center through special education courses.

Within the scope of the job training and self-sufficiency project, students who have completed their self care schooling and reached an appopriate level join the Daily Living Skills and Galosh Studio or Painting-Handcrafts and Hand-Arts Studio and further improve their hand-eye coordination and develop hand skills.

In paralel with the mental and physical (motor) development of the child, progress in hand drawing (or other arts activities) is monitored. With this application, the joint development of sense, hand skills and hand-eye development is targetted.

Painting-Handcrafts and Works Training programs are developed and can be adjusted to special needs. Sharing the extraordinary achievements in visual arts or in participation arts is an important source of inspiration for all of us. The works of Painting-Handcrafts Studio developed by our children are placed in exhibitions at fairs and exhibits.

Children working towards self-sufficient participation in life, voicing “I exist in spite of everything”, are prepared for athletic events such as basketball, track-and-field sports, table tennis, swimming, and gymnastics through the individual and group physical education courses, to share the joys of achieving-winning and sharing.

The families of the students attending the center receive family education for eight weeks to make them active contributors to the development program of the children, to strengten the ties between family and school, to improve the skills of family members. During this period, self-help, behavioral education, and speech education for handicapped groups are introduced.

The center psychologist helps family members to cope with problems, helps them to break the vicious cycle some parents face and present multi-faceted suggestions to foster the sense of solution production.

Students having physical development problems receive therapy from the Center’s physical therapist.

As the members of Foundation Branch, we would like to see everyone who live in Antalya, whether they may have a handicapped relative or not, to be with our children and youth:

“Let the visible angels of the earth join you, open your doors to them. A simple smile may be more than enough for them.”

• Photo Album