A Soup Sometimes Saves a Life

"Çorbada Tuzun Olsun Association" is a voluntary association that uses food as a tool to reach out to homeless individuals. With an army of volunteers, mostly university students, they distribute food every night, 7 days a week. Altınbaş University Faculty of Business Administration students also wanted to be a part of the soup, so they got to work. They not only reinforced what they learned in their social responsibility and volunteering awareness courses, but also got to know a completely different side of life from the perspective of homeless individuals and got rid of their prejudices.

Coming together at a talk organized by Altınbaş University Faculty of Business Administration, Çorbada Tuzun Olsun Association and academicians Dr. Ayşegül Bayraktaroğlu Güner and Dr. Deniz Akgül explained the benefits of career and social responsibility courses. The academics stated that together with their students, they witnessed that offering a soup without triggering the trauma of people living on the streets is important enough to save lives. 

Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Bayraktaroğlu Güner stated that within the scope of the Social Responsibility and Career Planning course, students from the Faculty of Business Administration volunteered in groups for the daily routine activities of the association, including the portioning, packaging, transportation and distribution of meals. He explained how the students gained experience in communicating with disadvantaged groups, creating social benefit and the spirit of volunteerism within a systematic activity. Güner said, "I am sure that this experience has given the students values and principles that they will adopt and apply throughout their lives. I hope that all of our students will take the initiative to start new volunteer activities, become participants and pass on this impact to their surroundings."  
Prof. Dr. Deniz Akgül also mentioned that in the social responsibility project we carried out jointly with the Çorbada Tuzun Olsun Association, they took an active role in the distribution of food in 3 evenings in 3 groups of 12 students each. In this process, she said that her students had fun and strengthened their awareness of social responsibility.

In the experience, which reinforced the feelings of social solidarity and solidarity, the majority of international students participated in the soup distribution process. Akgül said, "Their enthusiastic participation once again showed how meaningful it is to serve the community as a volunteer. Each student experienced that even a small contribution can make a difference in people's lives. This activity within the scope of the course also strengthened their feelings of empathy and solidarity. Our students felt the strong bonds of working together and coming together for a cause. I hope that this experience will inspire them to take on greater social responsibilities in the future." 

Evren Tüfekçi, President of Çorbada Tuzun Olsun Association, defines homelessness as the inability to belong and to find shelter. This situation can be triggered by disasters, psychological or economic reasons. Tüfekçi explained that as an association, they try to support homeless individuals who live around Gezi Park in Taksim and try to survive by earning small gains by contacting public and corporate companies. "Volunteerism needs to be sustainable." Tüfekçi said that goodness and awareness are contagious. Tüfekçi said:
"I was one person on Thursdays, I was looking for one person to accompany me. But in 7 years, our volunteer network has increased, we have 6430 volunteers. The support of universities, academics and students like you is important for us. 85-90% of our volunteers are university students. It is important for their personal development and their future lives that people become aware of this at such an early stage. It is also important for your careers. This process needs to go down to high school students." 
Tüfekçi pointed out that anyone can become a homeless person at any time due to reasons such as war, migration and rent increases and said, "There will be more hidden homeless people in the coming days. There are families in Zeyrek in Fatih with 40 people living in a house. The most important thing is to approach with empathy and without prejudice."   
Hatice Bozkafa, Institution Manager of Çorbada Tuzun Olsun Association, explained that among these individuals there are those who are addicted, who want to be treated or who are disabled. Explaining that they actually serve as a bridge as an association, Bozkafa said, "We try to bring them in contact with public institutions and ensure that they receive services. We accompany them. There are 20 people who have not been in the hospital for 20 years. If their identity card is missing, we make an appointment with the registry office and get it issued. While doing this, we take care not to make promises or create expectations. We want them to stand on their own feet and get stronger and continue their lives."  
Qasim Ali, a 2nd year Business Administration student who works as a volunteer for Çorbada Tuzun Olsun Association, says he was very impressed by this experience.  According to Qasim Ali, growing up in a privileged environment can cloud your perspective on the real issues of society and make you unaware of the problems people face on a regular basis. 
"So this experience helped me to empathize with the community that is really struggling and to develop a sensitivity towards society in general. What struck me deeply was that despite all the privileges and conveniences in this modern world, people are still struggling to meet their basic life needs, which is why I find this social responsibility awareness course and the Soupada Tuzun Olsun experience so valuable."