Social media campaign collects #happinessparcels for children in Turkey’s southeast

MARDİN - Doğan News Agency

DHA Photos

A substitute teacher working in the southeastern province of Mardin has launched a social media project to help disadvantaged children in the area, collecting “happiness parcels” filled with school equipment, toys and other useful aid.

Teacher Rengin Yavuz, who works in village schools around Mardin, organized a social media campaign with three other colleagues, Elif Arı, Şeha Keleş and Pınar Keleş, calling on people across the country to send aid for schools.

Using the hashtag “#mutlulukkolileri” [#happinessparcels], Yavuz and her colleagues have so far helped students in a number of provinces in eastern and western Turkey including Van, İzmir, Kırıkkale, and Mardin.

Rengin Yavuz said the campaign’s slogan is: “I would like to be hope to a student.”


The team has also struck an agreement with a courier company to distribute aid, free of charge, to the most remote villages.

Most recently, Yavuz visited the village of Kilimli in Mardin, where she gave children their packages and stayed to play with them for a long time.

“We are seeking the happiness of these children. We need people to stand up for them,” she said, adding that the campaign has made a great impact so far but needs even more support.