President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN and The Minister of Family and Social Services Derya YANIK attended the Opening Ceremony of Darülaceze Dormitory and Cultural Facility and the Presentation of Darülaceze Social Service City

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in his speech at the opening ceremony that the Darülaceze dormitory with the capacity of 901 students will contribute to the solution of accommodation problem which is one of the most important needs in students’ lives and said, ‘The commercial area under the dormitory building, which appeals to the students of all of our 56 universities in İstanbul, will both meet the needs of the region and provide income to Darülaceze.’

President Erdogan said that Darülaceze, which has almost 126 – year history, was established by Sultan Abdülhamid-I Sani in order to accommodate orphans, particularly the children and the elderly. Mentioning that one of the characteristics of the institution is that it embraces everybody irrespective of their religion, language, race or gender and provides everyone with the same service, the President said that this big family with its management, employees and volunteers still conduct activities with the motto “We love the created, because of the Creator,”.

Stating that Darülaceze has developed further its range of services with the dormitory and cultural facilities, the President said, “Our dormitory building with the capacity of 901 students will contribute to the solution of accommodation problem which is one of the most important needs in students’ lives. The commercial area under the dormitory building, which appeals to the students of all of our 56 universities in İstanbul, will both meet the needs of the region and provide income to Darülaceze.’

The President congratulated everyone who contributed to the realisation of this award-winning project, especially the humanitarians by wishing that the dormitory and the cultural facilities to be beneficial and said, ‘We are really proud of the Darülaceze Social Service City project. The building, which will be built on an area of 150,000 square metre in Arnavutköy, will bear the traces of our civilization on its each part from its architecture to its units. This facility will be committed to its mission with its 1068 bed capacity, polyclinics, rehabilitation centre, workshops, conference room and multifaith prayer room to serve benefactors, healthy or bedridden persons and children who are under protection. I would like to extend my thanks in advance to everyone who will make a contribution to build Darülaceze Social Service City which is designed with the conception of a horizontal, slow and liveable city.”

The return on this investment, which is made for the sake of Allah, is to receive blessing.

Referring that every investment is important, the President emphasised that making an investment directly for people, especially the needy is much more important. President Erdogan said, “Every contribution made to Darülaceze means to invest in people in this way. The return on this investment, which is made purely and simply for the sake of Allah, is not to earn money or a reputation but to receive blessing. I have no doubt that the members of a civilisation that set a good example of this view to the world and the grandchildren of such ancestors will sincerely protect this project of Darülaceze.”

The President said, “One of the most important motives behind our people’s prayer ‘May Allah prevent our state from any kind of harm,’ is that they have trust in such institutions that will take care of them when it is needed,” and added, “As people who know Darülaceze well since our teenage years and have taken an interest in its issues, we have worked hard to spread this idea which found expression in this foundation. I am from this region. I was born and raised here and I have known Darülaceze well since that time. Later, I became mayor. We built Ayazaga Campus and we have come a long way since that. Now, we are starting to realise this project in the huge area in Arnavutköy during my presidency. Surely, Arnavutköy will be an utterly different example for us and our state with its everything. That is why, I believe that Darülaceze in Arnavutköy will be a great example for the world, of course with the contributions of our benefactors. We will be proud of having built a new one with this project, just like Sultan Abdülhamit-I Sani.”

President Erdogan mentioned that the social welfare budget of Turkey was 2 billion dollars per year when he took office and it reached 69 billion liras last year. The President said that he acts with the motto “Let people live so that the state can exist,” in whichever position he takes responsibility from Metropolitan Municipality to Prime Ministry, from it to the Presidency.

Emphasising that they have built a system in which nobody will feel unprotected by putting the most common and effective social assistance policies into practice, President Erdogan said, “The Chairman’s determinations about our bedridden citizens are not ordinary. The bedridden people should be nursed, checked on three times a day and should not be neglected. Our ancestors such people who were aware of this responsibility. And now, if we are able to protect these persons and do whatever is necessary for them as the grandchildren of those ancestors, I can say ‘Alhamdulillah,’ as a President,”.

President Erdogan stated that they have put Turkey in an enviable position in this respect with their support policies covering every segment from children to the elderly, from the disabled to women and every field from health to education, from housing to employment and continued, “Unlike many other countries, we give support by keeping our people in their natural living spaces and preserving family unity. For instance, in keeping with this understanding, we support more than 170 thousand people over the age of 60 and almost 150 thousand people over the age of 65 and their families with a monthly amount of 865 liras. We provide about 67 thousand elderly people in 40 different cities home care services, psychosocial support and cultural activities with the Elderly Services Programme. There are 16,566 elderly people in 163 nursing homes that are affiliated to the Ministry of Family and Social Services. Together with the public and private sector capacity, this figure exceeds 37 thousand.”

Pointing out that one of the significant breakthroughs in the active participation of the disabled in society and business life is has been made under their authority, the President said that almost 536 thousand disabled persons across the country receive the monetary aid of an average of 1798 liras per month via home care services. The President mentioned that they have not forgotten their family members who dedicate themselves to nurse the disabled and said, “We have established 127 Adult Day Care Centres that are active in 76 cities to make it possible for their caregivers to make time for themselves. Also, while increasing the adult day care centres to 104, we have made them accessible for 7 thousand people who benefit them. The number of the private nursing homes for the disabled, which are paid by the government, have reached 294 and the number of the benefiters have reached 24 thousand. The number of the disabled who are employed in the public sector has exceeded 60 thousand.”

Turkey’s social welfare budget reached 69 billion liras last year.

President Erdogan pointed out that they have completely changed the child protection system and said, “We have switched to homelike care centres which provide a family environment by eliminating ward-like dormitories and nurseries. Currently, 13,341 children are under legal protection in homelike care centres. More importantly, we ensure that almost 139 thousand children maintain their lives with their families or relatives because of the social and economic support that we provide. By developing foster family services, we enable 8,214 children to make place in life. In the same way, more than 18,000 children have got a family by being adopted. Within employment of our children under protection, we have employed almost 56,000 young people in public sector. Within the framework of Prevention Program for Children and Families at Risk, we have watched almost 67,000 children closely. We have served almost 285,000 women and 170,000 children with them in the shelters that are active to confront violence against women.” Stating that they do not only consider the elderly, children, the disabled and women, but also they develop strategies that protect and support every segment of the society and to make them keep living and stay hopeful for their future and that they implement them with determination, the President said, “The social welfare budget of Turkey was 2 billion dollars when we took office. However, this number, please pay attention to this point, has reached 69 billion liras last year. The total amount of the social support we have provided in the last 19 years has reached 434 billion liras. We have increased the social support to our national income ratio from 0,38 percent to 1,37 percent. We have made the support, most of which’s significant part was in kind, more effective by converting it into cash at a rate of 96 percent.”

As Turkey develops, the welfare standard it provides to its citizens also gets better accordingly.

Stating that approximately 2 million citizens meet their needs with the social aid cards that are given by the government, the President said, “Obviously, we have built a system that does not let anyone to be unprotected and we are maintaining it. Surely, we desire to have a welfare standard that enables each of our citizens to move on with their lives without the need for support, earn their livelihood, receive education and health services. However, it is clear that there is no such ideal economic and social life anywhere in the world. While we offer business opportunities to anyone who wants to work and is able to work, it is our duty to protect other people that are not in this group. As Turkey develops and get stronger and rich, the welfare standard that it provides to its citizens also gets better and will continue to do so. No rational and conscientious person can deny the fact that Turkey is far ahead of any period in the past in every field from democracy to reconstruction, social and economic opportunities today.”

Expressing that their generation was children when the 1960’s coup took place, the President said, “Even though we were children, we could feel the effects of the pain, injustice and corruption caused by the coup. 1970s, one of the Turkey’s darkest periods, were the years when we were young. We personally experienced and saw how our country were tried to be dissented on ideological, ethnic and sectarian basis and how our citizens were set against each other and how the coup is planed studiously. The 1980’s coup was a disaster by which our country was tried to be eliminated and was literally obliged to start from the beginning. And Turkey, which was trying to recover after the coup, faced the problems caused by the subversive organisations activities and coalition governments.”

The President said that there has been a very ugly ongoing campaign about the university students and added, “Since we took office, we increased the capacity of dormitories like never before and there is a dormitory capacity of almost 1 million.” President Erdogan said that after every crisis period, the people have shown their will to protect their independence and future against those who have tried to accept democratic and economic underdevelopment as their destiny. Expressing that their taking office was a sign of such a will, the President continued his speech as follows, “All praise be to Allah, our country has its greatest days throughout the history of the Republic with the help of Allah and thanks to the stability and confidence that we provide. Our social support policies and activities are a significant part of this success. Of course, we update ourselves accordingly as the world changes, our country develops and especially the expectations and needs of the youth changes. The old Turkey’s need was not to leave anyone hungry and homeless. And, Turkey’s need today is to provide everyone opportunities to enable them to live as they wish. Now, our aim is not only to have a roof over our heads, but to live in homes that are beautiful with their architecture, construction quality, furniture and landscaping.”

The President said that there has been a very ugly ongoing campaign about the university students and added, “Since we took office, we increased the capacity of dormitories like never before and there is a dormitory capacity of almost 1 million. But unfortunately, there are such irrelevant people who neglect this fact and organise campaign by sleeping on the park benches and saying, ‘There is no dormitory in Turkey right now,’. They are doing nothing but lying. It is obvious that we have dormitories and so is their capacity. In these dormitories, we host our students in the rooms with the capacity of 2 or 3 people.”

We will make all 84 million happy individuals who live in a safe, peaceful and prosperous country.

The President, “Needing a bread to feed oneself is no longer a measure of poverty. Today, people who do not have the opportunity that we say they are to live like a human feel poor. So, our duty is to give our people opportunity to live their lives according to these new standards.” Saying that they have been renewing and developing the social support programmes with this understanding, the President added, “We attach importance to the family institution particularly. Behind the support that we give to the elderly, disabled, children and women, there is the aim of protecting family institution in a strong way. Hopefully, we will make all 84 million happy individuals who live in a safe, peaceful and prosperous country by making Turkey stronger.”

Expressing that the people, like their states, live with their traditions, cultures and institutions that are embodiment of these, the President said, “This is such a country that have inspired the world with our thousands of years of organisational culture. It has been a home to cultural accumulations since the early ages.” The President said that there will be a dormitory building that has a capacity of 1000 beds and stated that he was very pleased to be in a well-established institution and to share his excitement about the completed investments and the projects that will be realised. The President wished the dormitory that was to be inaugurated and Darülaceze Social Services City that will be built with its cultural facilities to be beneficial.

We use every means available to protect the values that we hold dear, keep them alive and passing them down to next generations.

The Minister of Family and Social Services Derya YANIK said in her speech that she made at the Opening Ceremony of Darülaceze Dormitory and Cultural Facility and the Presentation of Darülaceze Social Service City, “We use every means available to protect the values that we hold dear, keep them alive and passing them down to next generations. And one of the most valuable consequences of this effort is the dormitory and the cultural facility within Darülaceze that we are to put in service today for our people. Darülaceze is an important institution that has become the symbol of respect for the elderly and compassion for our children. It is one of the most valuable institutions in our country that the understanding of social work is nurtured.”

The Minister said that she was very pleased to be there for inaugurating such a building that would be the symbol of a powerful social state and for the promotion of a project that they believed it would be one of the cornerstones of civilisation. Minister Yanik stated that these precious buildings that are built with an understanding that was inherited from the cultural heritage and the good news that there were new ones to be built were a reflection of a set of values which showed that serving people was actually serving Allah.

Stating that these works, which they are proud of, have inspired many projects in the field of social services at an international level, the Minister said, “A nation can exist only as long as it protects its values and solidarity. We use every means available to protect the values that we hold dear, keep them alive and passing them down to next generations. One of the important results of this is the dormitory and the social facility within Darülaceze that we will put into service today. Darülaceze is an important institution that has become the symbol of respect for the elderly and compassion for our children. It is one of the most valuable institutions in our country that the understanding of social work is nurtured.”

Mentioning that the “Darülaceze Social Services Facility” that they are presenting is also a manifestation of the same ancient understanding, the Minister said, “As it is a part of our belief and culture for centuries, we act with an understanding of serving that loves, protects and revives the creatures. Our main purpose in our work is to ensure that all of our citizens, men and women, the youth and elderly, children and adults, live in the same level of peace and happiness. This view is still valid as it was in the Ottoman civilisation which was dominant in those large continents and cultures. As the grandchildren of the ancestors who built bird boxes, prepared dowry for young girls and established institutions that compensated even the broken things, we are happy to build organisations that effects the people’s daily lives. As it is seen in many fields, our country has adopted a human-centred approach in the field of social services since 2002. It has embraced the elderly, disabled and orphaned people without any discrimination and provided them with care services that are suitable for their conditions. In this sense, it can be said that the institutions providing care services do not only keep people alive but also conduct activities to make them fit into society. With the aging studies that are carried out in our country, it is aimed to enable the elderly to share their experiences as healthy individuals to the next generations, to strengthen their desire to live and to support the intergenerational solidarity.”

With YADES, the protection and support service that the elderly, who are over the age of 65, in need became available.

Stating that the people are valuable in every period of their lives, and that the social state is responsible for making people feel valuable, Minister Yanık said, “In this sense, our Ministry follows the studies about aging which is one of the most important issues of today. The main subjects in services for the elderly are determined in the framework of “active and healthy aging” which is accepted and popularised worldwide. As a symbol of the importance attached to the elderly, “2023 Active Aging Vision Document” has been prepared in order to support active and health aging and to strengthen the elderly’s right. This study is based on the view that social policies with which it is aimed to make society compatible with intergenerational solidarity by preventing poverty and social exclusion are more beneficial. With domestic care support, the elderly and disabled citizens can have access to this services that they need without leaving their homes, and our crew reach both them and their families. Also, the need for institutional care has been reduced and the family members are employed in this way with the Adult Day Care Centres.”

Saying that with YADES, which is the Elderly Services Programme, the protection and support of the elderly over the age of 65 needing service has become possible, the Minister said, “The elderly’s life quality has increased by providing care services in the places where they live. These steps we have taken show great importance in terms of expanding the elderly’s environment in a world that is increasingly becoming more digital and making the understanding of active and healthy aging accepted in every area of social life. It is one our main purposes to conduct our activities that preserve our connection with our past and adopt to the developing world by staying together with the elderly. Many social projects that are prepared for the elderly have also been realised for our disabled citizens. Just like in our services for the elderly, the support services for the disabled have been increased because of our family-oriented approach. At this point, it is seen that it has become art to keep people alive in the scope of our country’s social policies. We aim to make policies that protect the elderly and prioritise keeping them social by considering the existing practices in our understanding of civilisation with the necessities of daily life.

Emphasising that every person can contribute society, the Minister said, “We all believe that everyone should live in good conditions as much as possible. In this sense, we see the productivity and the active social lives of elderly as both a right and a support to increase their life quality, and we continue to act according to the motto, ‘Let people live so that the state can exist,’. Darülaceze that has been a ‘House of Compassion’ for 100 thousand people since the day it was established in 1895 is an ancient symbol of this understanding. With its facilities that have been inaugurated today and the social service city that has been introduced, it will continue to offer the highest quality services that everyone hosted in it without any discrimination but with the same understanding of the first day it was established. So, its biggest supporter is our people.”

Reminding that during the Republic history, the third President who visited Darülaceze after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Cevday Sunay, it is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Minister of Family and Social Services Derya YANIK said, “We would like express our gratitude sincerely for the support he has given to this nice projects. We would like to thank everyone who has been with us, has made contribution and most importantly, the ones who believe in the power of goodness. While sharing the happiness of providing our people an honourable life that they deserve, I pray to Allah that our services will be beneficial for everyone.”