Social Cohesion between Syrian and Host Communities through Women’s Empowerment Project

The project aimed to pilot strengthening of social cohesion among Syrian and host communities in Turkey through women's empowerment and was implemented in cooperation with GAP Regional Development Administration and UNDP, funded by UNDP. Specifically, online psycho-social support trainings provided to improve knowledge and skills of the social workers, the elderly and their families to respond to their psychological, social and cultural needs and eased the burden on women and family members taking care of the elderly people.

Year(s): 2019-2021

Target group(s): Health and social service workers, the elderly, and their families

Website or other online channels: http://yasam.ankara.edu.tr

Methodology

Efforts to strengthen women's co-operatives continued to increase; in order to reduce the burden of care work on women, efforts made  to create shared care work responsibilities within household and socialized/publicized care work facilities and diversify the support and incentives for child, disabled and elderly care.

Type of product

Online resource Course / Training

Brief description of the outcomes

The trainings were delivered in four sessions on 'Vocational Adjustment and Coping with Stress', 'Vocational Implementation-Case Management', 'Vocational Resilience' and 'Geriatric Assessment'. The second phase of the trainings were delivered to elderly people living in Kilis, Hatay, Mardin, Şanlıurfa and Gaziantep provinces on 'Improvement of Physical, Psychological, Social and Moral Well-being During the Pandemic.' During the third phase of the trainings, to be moderated by Ankara University YASAM Center, families of the elderly are briefed on 'Caregiving in the family, the burden of caregiving, inter-generational cooperation, institutional services'.

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

The project improved knowledge and skills of the service workers, the elderly and their families to respond to their psychological, social and cultural needs and eased the burden of elderly care on women and family members.

Promoter of the initiative: GAP Regional Development Administration (GAP RDA), in collaboration with Ankara University Ageing Studies Implementation and Research Centre (YASAM)

Country: Turkey

Languages available: English Turkish

Website or other online channels: https://www.tr.undp.org/content/turkey/en/home/presscenter/articles/2020/07/elderly-during-COVID.html