Tuğrul Ağırbaş - 10NEWS - April 3, 2025 - https://10haber.net/yazarlar/tugrul-agirbas/yeni-bir-gun-593234/
Next Sunday, we will be running in Runtalya in Antalya with the volunteers of the Village Schools Exchange Network (KODA) to raise funds for KODA. The cost of a one-time training provided by KODA to a teacher is 1.250 TL, while the annual training cost of a teacher is 7.500 TL. Would you support KODA with your donation?
What we do seems insufficient, we think about doing more. We continue to breathe, talk, walk and live. But it is not easy. We say, “Young people do not speak, do not take action, do not even get up from their seats”, but when they do take action, we stand in their way and prevent them. There is something wrong with this. We are stuck in their hands no matter where we go.
When you look at it from a single perspective, it seems wrong, when you think one-dimensionally, you cannot reach the truth. All I know is this: If we only want to be with those who think like us, there will be no progress, no love, no respect. As we always say, “wisdom comes with age” – it does not.
The holiday has become a time of reflection and deliberation for all of us. Sometimes it is good to stop; to think, to calm down, to talk, to think again. To turn back from a mistake, to start again. The holiday is beautiful if it is with your loved ones, your family, your friends. But if your loved ones are not with you, if they are not in good conditions, that holiday does not feel like a holiday. Wisdom is everywhere: In the room, at home, in the neighborhood, at school, at work. In every age, in every generation.
We forget that wisdom is in every beginning
But as we rise, climb to higher positions, and get into big cars, we start to see ourselves as the sole decision maker. We like ourselves. And we forget that wisdom and common sense are in every age and every head. We don't like young people, we give them easy jobs. We constantly test them. We find small flaws even in the good work they do and cross them out with red pens, we force them. We turn down the microphone on stage so that they don't become better than us, so that they don't get ahead of us, we don't let them into decision meetings.
We don’t ask for their opinions. When they speak without us asking, we say, “This is not how things work here, go to your room and be quiet.” By saying, “This job is not for you,” we block their future steps. And we look for the problem in the youth. We explain this everywhere. “The youth are not hardworking like us, they are not aggressive like us, they are not on the right path.” “Are we going to leave the future to these youth?” We alienate the youth from their ideas, their work, their country. However, they are the ones who are really curious, questioning, taking things forward, and having the courage to take action.
We don't want to lose our power and our job
So the question is: Where is the problem? Even though we know that the real problem is us, why are we trying to block the way of the youth and extinguish their curiosity and fire? The reason is clear: We are not curious. We do not want the new. We do not want change. We cannot keep up with change. We do not want to lose our jobs. We want to continue making decisions. We cannot bring ourselves to learn from the youth and take orders from them. It does not feel good that they are braver and better than us. We do not want to lose our power and our jobs.
But the real problem is this: We have come to these jobs, these positions by putting in so much effort, but we have never planned what comes after this. We don’t know what to do. And not only us, the world doesn’t have a plan for us either. First, we need to sit down and create new jobs for ourselves. Otherwise, we will continue to put up obstacles by saying “anything goes” to protect our seats, tables, and titles.
There are so many wonderful businesses and communities started by young people.
There is a need for an agreement with the youth. There is a need for good minds of all ages and generations to think and produce together. It is time to think, produce and work together. Because what we have, they do not have, and what they have, we do not have. Then we have only one job: Make room. Make room for different ideas, different perspectives, different ages, different generations. Take action, start producing. Plan your future. Moreover, do something not only for yourself, but also for those who benefit the country. You do not have to do it — if there is something good, get involved, follow it.
There are so many wonderful works and communities started by young people… One of them is the Village Schools Exchange Network (KODA). KODA, which was founded 7 years ago by a young university graduate and village teachers, impressed me so much 3 years ago that I followed them. First, I started going to villages and to the mukhtars. I started by convincing families to send their children to summer camps, now I am on the board of directors.
For the last 6 months, I have been participating in runs to raise funds to help them achieve bigger goals. On Sunday, April 6, we will be running in Runtalya in Antalya with a large team of KODA volunteers to raise funds for KODA. I also wanted to share the message of KODA's founder, Mine Ekinci, below:
More than 107.000 children have been provided with a better education
KODA, which was a small project idea at the end of 2016, has grown and grown over the last eight years thanks to our teachers, educators and donors, and has become a huge network. With the content it produces specifically for village schools, the training it offers to village teachers, and its always being at the end of a phone call, this network has become the unique companion of village teachers working in remote corners of the country. There is no other person who has a greater impact on the educational life of a child attending primary school than their teacher — especially in village schools. A village teacher doing their job better and with more love means changing the educational lives of hundreds of children.
KODA has provided a better education to more than 107.000 children so far. The cost of a one-time education provided by KODA to a teacher is 1.250 TL, while the annual education cost of a teacher is 7.500 TL. Would you like to support KODA with a donation of any amount you wish?
To support young people and good works, we must first listen to their demands, then support them and join hands. You will see, they have been ready for a long time to do better than what we do and they demand it. Then it is time to support young people and their demands. You can donate to KODA in less than two minutes by clicking on my campaign page:
http://ipk.adimadim.org/kampanya/CC129124
I look forward to your support.
