Turkey's Changemakers: 'Little codas' are not alone

The third "Changemaker" of the 5th season of Sabancı Foundation Turkey’s Changemakers Program, which shares the unique stories of extraordinary people who contribute to social development, is Selma Yildiz, who designed the “Little Codas” project.
 
Yıldız, 26, is a kindergarten teacher who conducts a project called “Little Codas” at the Association of People with Hearing Disabilities in the southwestern province of Denizli. "Coda" refers to "children of deaf adults," who often are unable to get enough assistance from their parents regarding education and social participation. At the same time, codas have difficulties communicating with other people and participating in society.
 
Thanks to the project in Denizli, realized for the first time in Turkey, codas are supported by volunteers in their academic lives. Together with volunteers, they can also solve their social problems. With the support of 20 volunteers, codas have made progress at school and established better communication with society.
 
In the project, the volunteers are selected from the Faculty of Education at the local Pamukkale University, and psychologists give seminars to parents on child development and education. A needs-oriented program is carried out in the project and each coda is supported by one volunteer.
 
Volunteers primarily support codas in their studies and assist them achieving social development. The aim of the project is to make the codas who were previously introverted and ashamed of their parents to come out of their shell and become more sociable.