When we talk about the future, we often focus on technology and academic success. Yet, the truly decisive factor is individuals being aware of their own emotions. A child can solve a problem; but do they know how to cope with disappointment, how to manage their anger?
The Geleceğe Adımlar Association (Steps to the Future Association) aims to complete exactly this missing piece. Across all corners of Turkey, we teach children life's most difficult but most necessary lesson: knowing oneself. Our goal is to raise individuals who are not just successful, but emotionally resilient, capable of empathy, and able to be flexible in the face of challenges. Because a child who can express themselves correctly beautifies not only their own future but the tomorrow of us all.
Sometimes a journey does not begin on a map, but in a child's eyes. Sometimes a step taken is not just for walking; it is for questioning the direction of a life. This story, which sprouted in the stone streets of Mardin and the thousand-year-old silence of the Dara Ancient City, began exactly this way. Witnessing children growing up with limited resources recite long poems from memory and with great expressive power became the starting point for the Geleceğe Adımlar Association.
This story was not about a trip or a fleeting encounter, but about pursuing the question "What is possible for these children?" instead of "What can I take?". Because what was encountered was not so much a deficiency, but an unrecognized potential.
The person who asked this question was Lawyer Elif Görgülü. This encounter in Midyat, Mardin in 2018, would turn into a social impact movement touching the lives of thousands of children in different cities of Turkey two years later.
Aiming to support the social and emotional development of children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions in Turkey, the Geleceğe Adımlar Association emphasizes an important truth through its field work today: Education is not limited to academic success alone. The association reveals that children's perceptions of themselves, others, and life play a role in learning processes that is at least as decisive as their studies.
Founded in January 2020 under the leadership of Elif Görgülü as an independent initiative of university students, the association conducted its first field study in the Sivrice Village of Mardin. Following this first step, Geleceğe Adımlar transformed into a strong, volunteer-based structure that conducts sustainable practices in different provinces.
From school desks to life practice
The program implemented by the association in schools aims to provide children with social and emotional competencies that will accompany them not only in the classroom but throughout their entire lives. These trainings, spread over five days, cover vital topics such as emotional awareness, empathy, healthy communication, anti-bullying, problem-solving, stress management, and critical and creative thinking. These gains lay the groundwork for children to make more profound sense of the relationships they build both with themselves and their environment, and to respond more healthily to the challenges of daily life.
The most distinctive feature of the program is that it is based on these skills not just being taught theoretically, but being learned by experiencing them firsthand.
Professional strength in the field
All field studies of the Geleceğe Adımlar Association are carried out by a volunteer team consisting of students studying psychology, education, social sciences, and arts at Turkey's elite universities, alongside professionals specialized in these disciplines.
Volunteers do not only take on the role of 'educators' in the field; they also take on the role of listeners, understanders, and learners alongside the children. This volunteering model strengthens the permanence of the bond established with the children while allowing for sincere and effective practices based on real needs in the field to come to life.
A "future" mark all over Turkey
To date, Geleceğe Adımlar has set foot in 28 different points on the map of Turkey and has brought the experience of social and emotional learning to more than 3 thousand children. This journey, which extends from Mardin to Ordu, from Kars to Hatay, and to many cities such as Şanlıurfa, Ağrı, Bitlis, and Ankara, has crossed not only geographical borders but also the boundaries in the inner worlds of children.
The data and observations obtained in the field clearly reveal the change these experiences have created in children: Increased self-confidence, strengthened emotional resilience, and a brand new motivation felt towards school.
A model that transcends borders
This unique social and emotional learning model developed by the Geleceğe Adımlar Association has transcended language and geographical boundaries and been carried to an educational institution in the USA. The adaptation of the program into English and its implementation across the ocean has been a valuable experience proving how valid and effective this methodology is not only locally but also in different cultural textures.
Call for donations - it changes with one step
The Geleceğe Adımlar Association has touched the worlds of thousands of children to date; however, there are many more children waiting in line on this journey and many more cities to go to. Support from donors and volunteers is needed for new field studies, new cities, and more children.
Every donation made;
• Turns into a child being able to express themselves,
• A child saying "I can do it too",
• A child looking to the future with confidence.
Every support given to the Geleceğe Adımlar Association leaves a permanent mark on a child's life. A step you take today raises the strong individuals of tomorrow.
"The real issue for children is not talent, but opportunity"
Geleceğe Adımlar Association founder Lawyer Elif Görgülü stated that they place children's social and emotional development at the center of the work they carry out. Emphasizing that disadvantage is no longer limited to rural areas, Görgülü stated that many children in big cities also cannot access opportunities.
Stating that in the face of increasing peer bullying, social and emotional learning gives children the skills of empathy, knowing their boundaries, and asking for support, Görgülü said, "This approach needs to take place in the education system permanently."
Stating that the children she met in Midyat showed her that the "problem is not talent, but opportunity," Görgülü expressed that this experience revealed that children should be supported not only with knowledge but also with self-confidence.
She expressed that the initiative, which was born as an idea at the beginning, has turned into a common social dream growing in different regions, starting with Mardin.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.