We provide enrichment programs to support the students` learning and expose them to new fields such as robotics. Past programs have included classes in Turkish, English (grammar and speaking), writing (in both languages), Math, Science, robotics as well as fun educational games!

The first summer school program was held at Bilgi University in July 2019. We also hosted a variety of inspiring speakers to motivate the participants and to make them aware of various opportunities. Past speakers have included representatives from various educational organizations and NGO`s such as the Innovation in Education Association as well as university prep course tutors, Robotics teachers, Science & Math teachers, aeronautics and genetics engineers.

Summer school programs in 2020, 2021 and 2022 were held online. Initially the programs focused on catching up with school work, which was heavily online during the first two years of Covid. This year, we also organized a lecture series focusing on a range of topics in science to give the students an idea of the types of fields they can consider studying in the future. Some of the topics covered in this lecture series included aeronautical engineering, astronomy (including the newest images taken by the Webb telescope, black holes etc.) as well as an introduction to organic chemistry. We are hoping to expand the lecture series to include presentations and courses on first aid, physiology and the newest developments in medicine and biotechnology.

We do fundraising to help provide scholarships, tutoring (including entrance exam preparation), school supplies, books, as well as school and university fees for the students. Initially this was done largely through friends and family in Turkey, the UK and the US, but we plan on expanding the fundraising through our website and campaigns.

The summer school programs are a great way for the students to come together and interact. However, we realized after the first summer school that the students needed more support throughout the school year, so we started an online year round tutoring support program for middle and high school students in Math, Science, Turkish, English, computer programming and most recently in German. We also help with preparation for the high school and university entrance exams.

We match Syrian youth in Istanbul who speak some English with peers in the US and UK (to be expanded soon to other countries) so that they can practice and improve their English. We provide guidelines, sample discussion topics, websites where they can get ideas for conversations as well as sample materials such as dialogue exercises, so that they always have something to do and conversation is never stalled! We find that such help is rarely necessary after the initial meeting, as the matched buddies find they have a lot more in common than they expected, so they always seem to have a lot to talk about!

The goal is also to build bridges between nations and peoples, which will hopefully lead to lasting friendships. The students from the US and UK then host events at their schools and communities to spread awareness about refugee related issues in order to help combat prejudice against refugees. We select and match `buddies` very carefully as they are all young, so new participants usually join through personal references. Thus far, many wonderful friendships have been formed. As we continue to expand, we will continue to vet everyone very carefully to ensure maximum safety of all the participants.