What We Do
Kardelen is the only Christian-based organization serving children with disabilities in Türkiye. While the local government provides financial aid, hospital care assistance, and other programs which support the urgent needs of children with disabilities (like transportation to a medical appointment), they do not provide home visits, trauma or art therapy, or care for the social, emotional, and spiritual needs (such as depression, isolation, feelings of worthlessness, or hopelessness) of these families. Those programs focus on relief and leave families feeling isolated within their homes. Kardelen fills the gap this leaves through their programs, offering community through home visits, family outings, and spiritual and emotional support. Most importantly, Kardelen is able to be the body of Christ to families that are the most vulnerable and the least amongst the population in Türkiye.
Home Visits & Rehabilitation
Home Visits Heal Hearts
The most important thing we do is to meet families in their homes. While other organizations provide relief outside of the home, our Mercy Teams are able to bring friendship and encouragement to isolated families directly in the safety of their homes.
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Families with children who have disabilities in Türkiye are often shamed into isolation; refugees face the additional difficulties of navigating the social systems provided by the government as well as the challenges of having a child with significant physical and emotional needs.
When our Mercy Teams enter their homes, we take the first step towards combating isolation. Through tender, loving, prayerful connections, each family’s unique needs are assessed and then connected to services as plans are made for regular home visits.
Individualized Education
Program (IEP)
Every Child Is Different
We know that God created each of these children with unique gifts and challenges. The Individualized Education Program provides a road map for the person with a disability.
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Because the strengths and weaknesses of each child with a disability are different, we prepare a unique IEP for each one based on their individual needs. It identifies goals they can work towards and the steps to reach them. We aim to develop the child’s strengths and work on the weaknesses through prepared activities in order to ensure that the best education plan is provided.
Wheelchairs & Prosthetics
Why Mobility Matters
Imagine that your child is unable to walk, run and play. Imagine that you have to carry your child everywhere you go. Sooner or later, you become overwhelmed. This is where Kardelen can help! We can assess the child’s specific needs and provide a mobility aid.
Some of the most powerful moments are when we discover a bedridden child actually has the ability to walk with support and ongoing therapy. What a miracle!
Our goal is to help the child achieve maximum mobility and independence. This can be done with your partnership and the healing power of God. Your gifts and prayers allow us to work with children and their families to solve the mobility issue – whether that’s through the gift of a wheelchair, walker, orthotic, prosthetic, or other mobility aid. God has consistently blessed these children through the generous gifts of our donors.
Physical Therapy
Make a Child Happy
Physical therapists help train our Mercy Team members in proper seating and wheelchair assessment for our wheelchair donation program.
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Physical therapy topics such as proper seating, lifting, exercise, massage, and stretching are taught to families and individuals learning to care for their own disabilities. Actively helping caregivers to facilitate good movement and massage can prevent a host of problems such as bed sores, herniated discs, and muscle atrophy.
Positive Parenting
Developing Happy Families
To support parents and equip them with helpful parenting tools, we now offer a Positive Parenting course. This six-week, small group course brings together both moms and dads to learn about healthy communication, develop parenting skills, and how to express love to their children.
Because of this course, parents are learning how to parent together and growing in their care and understanding of their children, families are being strengthened, and for the first time some parents are able to tell their child, "I love you."
Healing the Wounds of Trauma
Experiencing Jesus' Healing Power
Many people in the families we care for have been subjected to war, ethnic conflict, and domestic violence. They have experienced severe rejection and hopelessness.
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Trauma is also one reason why parents are unable to adequately care for their children. They often do not have the capacity to cope with the challenges of everyday life and feel that caring for a child with a disability is an additional burden they cannot handle.
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Our aim is to heal the wounds of these people who are heartbroken and suffering, to guide them on how to cope with difficult situations, and to share Christ's healing power while respecting their culture.
Community Activities
Bringing Families Together
Most of the families that we work with experience the shame and isolation associated with having a child with physical, learning, and emotional challenges. Kardelen lovingly steps in to provide picnics, birthday parties, holiday celebrations, brunches, support groups, and much, much more - all chances for families to come together and find community.
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We mobilize volunteers to assist and spend precious time with these families. They leave feeling refreshed physically and spiritually, knowing that they are loved and valued and most importantly, not alone.
Practical Assistance
Support for Families in Need
70% of the families Kardelen serves live in poverty. For many of these families, the father is the only one who works and most often it is a low-paying, manual labor job. Kardelen believes that to serve their families well, and best support their children with disabilities, these families’ basic needs must be met. Mercy Teams work with families to determine their specific needs and then help families with grocery cards, heating support, diapers and medicine, home furnishings, and winterization kits.
Training & Encouragement
Skilled Professionals Wanted!
Our Mercy Teams desire to learn and implement the most effective and up-to-date techniques in order to better serve our children and families. We benefit when occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech and language teachers, special education teachers, and other related professionals can come and provide relevant training and instruction.
Can your church provide such a team? We’d love to hear from you!
