PELİN ÇALIŞKANOĞLU EKŞİ

 PELİN ÇALIŞKANOĞLU EKŞİ

Pelin was born in 1988 in Fenerbahçe in a Chevrolet. Her parents were severe drug addicts.

The most important reason for us to underline this part of her story at every opportunity is to show what a child can change if given the opportunity. 

Pelin, one of the young people who benefited from the first foster family service model in Turkey, and her foster family cross paths when she was 6 months old. The story from the language of Pelin's mother in her foster family is; She sees Pelin while she is walking in Fenerbahçe Park. She says that she saw her face covered with dirt and blue eyes with curly blond hair on the lush green grass. First, she panicked and asked the shopkeepers in the park about her biological family. When the shopkeeper tells about the situation, even saying that this baby needs help, it is difficult to live here under these conditions, she talks to the biological mother. Somehow, the biological family is persuaded to take Pelin home, wash and pack up a bit. Afterwards, the legal process is started and Pelin begins to live with her foster family.

For the first time, they told her story to Pelin in the company of a pedagogue when she was 6 years old. The doctor said, "Don't go too far, it will be enough to give explanatory answers to her questions." At a time when she was feeling very lonely, her foster father said to her in a conversation, "Yes, maybe we don't share the same blood, but we are connected by invisible threads." 

For a long time, she started to give theater lessons voluntarily in dormitories and kindergartens (for children living under protection). She witnessed the transformation of dozens of children she touched with tiny contacts. But these changes were not enough. She founded the KALBEN Association in 2016, saying that these children need families to prepare for a healthier future and to have equal chances in life like her. By saying "A child grows up, the whole world changes", we have been instrumental in meeting hundreds of children with their families within 5 years. We provide more than 86,000 hours of sustainable education in the fields of arts and sports to our children, who are still living under government protection, and enable them to discover their talents and skills. 

We continue our efforts to increase the number of foster families and to inspire the next generation by telling our stories all over Turkey without getting tired.

This girl, touched by her foster family when she was 6 months old, can now touch the lives of dozens of other children thanks to them.

It can actually change the cycle of fate if given the opportunity.