Küçükçekmece Municipality, with the support of Qudra 2, promotes solidarity, sustainability, and equality. The municipality’s Social Market Project aims to strengthen solidarity, promote sustainable consumption habits, and achieve equality and justice in the city.
Küçükçekmece Municipality Social Market offers a variety of food and hygiene items, and shoppers are provided with credits based on their needs as determined by social workers. The project ensures equal benefits for all residents.

The social market is a pilot to test alternatives to the food support provided by the municipality. It replaces food baskets with a credit system that enables them to choose their own priorities and shop at the market. This allows the recipients greater choice and allows them to identify their own priorities.
In addition, the Küçükçekmece Municipality continues its Food Bank programme, which has gained strength through community solidarity in recent years. Social service experts review applications and determine which families are eligible to benefit from the Food Bank. The financial status of shoppers is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that assistance goes to those who need it most. The social market and the food bank are also supported with refrigerated vehicles for collecting donated food items from companies or producers.

Qudra 2 supports Küçükçekmece Municipality in its commitment to promoting social solidarity, sustainability, and equality in Küçükçekmece, while providing support to those in need through innovative programs and partnerships.

On February 6, 2023, Turkey was hit by two devastating earthquakes affecting eleven provinces in Türkiye and northwest Syria which exacerbated the already existing challenges.

According to official records, over 15 million people have been directly affected, accounting for 16.4% of Türkiye’s population.

Qudra 2 continues to support municipalities in their efforts to recover from the effects of the earthquake and fulfil the needs of their communities. Positive results of our support to strengthen the resilience of the municipalities is evident through the efforts of the municipalities during the recovery period.

Following the earthquakes, municipalities most affected have conducted a needs assessment and amended the on-going communşty support projects (CSPs) to respond to emerging needs in the best effective way immediately.

One example is Qudra 2’s support to municipal bakeries. The earthquakes damaged infrastructure in the area, including municipalities’ bakeries, which normally provide subsidised bread to local communities. This led to a shortage of bread in the region during these hard times. Municipalities of Suruç, Kahramanmaraş, and Haliliye adapted their community support projects to distribute bread free of charge to those affected by the earthquake. Public bakeries where established in some areas. With the support of Qudra 2 the bakeries are equipped to produce more than 5,000 loaves of bread per day to be distributed to neighbouring households.

Qudra 2 in Türkiye supports municipalities to strengthen their capacities in their responses to crises and planning to better cope with emerging needs resulted from disasters, conflicts, or other crises.

Empowerment for an equal future

Yüreğir Municipality is taking steps to expand the capacity of kitchens in its cultural houses increasing the number of meals distributed daily from 2,000 to 6,000 households per day. These kitchens have previously provided vocational training to 135 Turkish and Syrian women. With the increased capacity, even more women are expected to benefit from this project.

In an effort to further support both locals and refugees, the municipality has established a “Gastronomy Center” that offers vocational training in the field of food. This training equips individuals with the skills to start their own businesses and earn a living. The physical elements of the kitchens, such as stoves and awnings, have been set up, and with the support of Qudra 2, the necessary cooking equipment is provided to the municipality.

This initiative aims to create employment opportunities and empower the community through education and vocational training in the food industry.

As a guiding principle, Qudra 2 prioritises community involvement in its project. Therefore, we work closely with our local partners and sector directorates to identify the needs of communities and to ensure that communities are actively involved in the assessment, planning and implementation of the QIPs.  

In Iraq, the Qudra 2 programme addresses the needs of communities through Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) to enhance the living conditions of communities through improved basic services and infrastructure.

As a guiding principle, Qudra 2 prioritises community involvement for creating a positive change. Therefore, we work closely with our local partners and sector directorates to identify the needs of communities and to ensure that communities are actively involved in the assessment, planning and implementation of the QIPs.

We support our partners to systematise community engagement through local meetings. The meetings provide a platform for community members to discuss the future impact of the QIPs implemented and find ways to sustain this positive impact.

We also support local authorities to explore ways to improve community involvement in the planning, and implementation process and to strengthen the communication between decision-makers and communities.

The meetings are organised with our local partners in cooperation with the sector directorates at public places such as health centres, schools, or the facilities of partner municipalities. Community leaders and representatives of sector directorates attend the meetings as well as community members.

By supporting transparent and inclusive delivery of basic services, Qudra 2 contributes to the wellbeing of individuals, social cohesion, and stability in communities.

Fatenah Arbsh was only 12-year-old when she had to flee from from Syria in 2012 with her eight siblings, carrying nothing more than the clothes on their back. Despite her young age, Fatenah always had the mindset of an entrepreneur, and she was determined to create a better future for herself and her family.

She started looking for jobs when she was 16 to generate income and support her family. Her first real job was at a local beauty salon in her neighbourhood. However, she always knew that she had bigger dreams, and she aspired to open her own salon.

In January 2022, she came across the scholarship offered by Qudra 2 local partner National Company for Employment and Training (NET), which provided skills development for employment. She was accepted for the make-up courses and she saw this as an opportunity to improve herself and pave her way towards a professional career and success.

Building on her previous experience in the beauty sector, Fatenah learned about how to manage a small business during the courses. She started her own salon at home. Aware of the limited job opportunities in the market, Fatenah invited two of her colleagues to join her and they soon became permanent workers in her salon, showcasing her leadership and entrepreneurial spirit.

Reflecting on her journey, Fatenah’s words inspire others: “If you have lost hope in life, you must find it again. This programme brought ambition back into my life and gave me new perspective. When I think of the future, I feel that everything is going to be ok, and so should all of you!”

Fetanah’s story is a testament to resilience, determination and entrepreneurship as she rose above adversity despite many challenges on the way.

Qudra 2 together with its local partner, the National Employment and Training (NET) Company, started providing 5-month training to 350 Jordanians and Syrians on “Recognition of Prior Learning and Certification for Jordanians and Syrian Refugees” in several sectors such as construction, industry, agriculture, and beauty and cosmetics.

The training aims to provide the participants with basic knowledge in the aforementioned sectors to qualify them to obtain certified professional certificates (semi-skilled & skilled level). Once they finish the training, the participants will undergo a skills test, in order to apply for a certification from the Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission (TVSDC).

The training programme covers the professional components required to qualify trainees as skilled or skilled workers in their chosen professions. Each training programme is divided into three parts: theoretical training, career guidance and counselling and occupational safety and health (OSH), in addition to the theoretical and practical vocational training course.

Qudra 2 and its local partner, Luminus for Social Development (LMNS), started providing quality certified 4-month training  in the hospitality sector for 82 youth, of whom more than 50% are females.

The students will attend hospitality programmes for four months covering diet & nutrition, food & beverage services techniques, barista skills. The programme is adapted to the needs of the labour market. The technical skills programme will be supplemented with soft skills, employability skills, and English language skills.

Qudra 2 in Lebanon supports the Ministry of Social Affairs to improve protection opportunities for children, caregivers and older persons.

We collaborate with seven local and regional NGOs as well as fourteen public Social Development Centres across Lebanon.  

In collaboration with our local NGO partner Tabitha Relief & Development, and in cooperation with Ghazir Social Development Centre, an awareness session was organised for the elderly to emphasize the significance of maintaining a balanced diet. During the session, the elderly were provided with information on meal planning and making healthy food choices. They had the opportunity to discuss their questions on healthy nutrition with the dietician. Additionally, guiding booklets on healthy eating habits were distributed for their future reference.  

In Jordan, Qudra 2 continues its support to develop a facility management model for the schools in North-West Badia. Qudra 2 conducted a two-day technical training on the facility management, security, health, and safety minimum standards for 228 educational personnel from schools and the ministry.

The participants included 99 school principals, 122 teachers and 7 staff from the building department at the North-West Badia Field Directorate.  

The training aimed at raising the awareness of the trainees regarding the concept of school facility management and its minimum standards, helping them to identify the priorities and needs of the schools related to the maintenance of the buildings, and identifying the risks related to health, security and safety minimum standards.  

This training will be followed by field visits to support these schools to implement activities that help improve and upgrade school facilities based on identified needs and risks, and to adopt the facility management minimum standards as a basis for improving the physical learning environment. 

The Qudra 2 programme, in cooperation with the Technical Company, has launched the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education programme, through conducting a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for 6 youth trainers.

The workshop aimed at building the trainers’ capacity to implement extracurricular STEM activities for children aged between 10-14 years, to help them develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills through implementing project-based activities that challenge children to observe, assess, interpret and apply knowledge.   

Qudra 2 partnered with the Technical Company to develop and implement a STEM education programme in multiple locations across Jordan. The programme will be implemented within public schools with the approval of the Ministry of Education and in community based organisations in partnership with various local community service entities.

STEM is an education project that targets students aged 10-14, allowing them to learn skills such as coding, programming, robotics, and 3D printing) that is are becoming part of this generation’s must-learn knowledge and skills to cope and excel with the rapid development of technology.