Even without wings, this angel flies. Esra Kilic, a cabin supervisor for Turkish Airlines since 2006, spends her free time volunteering for aid projects. What moved her in this direction was a phrase from Louis Mann, “Happiness is a perfume that you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.”
1. Can you tell us about yourself?
In 2006, I started working as a cabin attendant for Turkish Airlines. Every day we meet people from different cultures; we travel and learn new information. As our monthly flight schedules are organized in advance, we can plan our free time. I love traveling and, in addition to voluntary charity projects, I’m also interested in world music and calligraphy. I spend time with my teammates, too.
2. In the last three years, you’ve delivered 300,000 aids to those in need. What motivates you?
I believe that, as humans, sharing is part of our innate code. Accumulating things is not; it is something we have learned. To share with people, especially with children, and to make them happy makes me feel happy. It’s good for me.
3. What do you want to achieve?
We want to let people understand that happiness lies in giving – and sharing what we do not need with those who are in need. We also aim to ensure that all children, wherever they are in the world, are raised to the same standards, in peace, happiness and healthy conditions.
4. Where and who is your target audience?
There’s no specific geography we target. Our goal is to be able to reach wherever the need exists. Our priorities are always widows, orphans and victims of war, regardless of nationality, religion and language. We brought aid to an orphanage in Bangladesh and to a village school in Mardin. We can deliver aid all over the world, as long as we have volunteers working with us.
5. How does the process work?
First of all, we determine who is in need. Municipalities, mayors, imams and teachers are our greatest helpers. Sometimes we investigate, and sometimes families who have already received our help recommend us when someone needs us. Of course, we also have support from our acquaintances. The ones in need enable us to reach out to new people.
After identification, we create projects and start to provide help. We create lists and plan where and how we’ll to provide help.
6. The biggest problem with aid projects is financing. How do you resolve this?
We carry out projects with the financial and moral support of cabin supervisors and attendants. We announce the projects through our social media account. If we are unable to finance aid or our allowance is not enough, we organize bazaars and concerts. We plan a month in advance, taking our off days into consideration. Then we travel to the city and country where we plan to deliver help.
7. How do you feel when you reach those in need?
It’s hard to describe my feeling when we reach those in need. There are situations where you experience a lot of emotions at the same time. Considering that one day we may be in the same situation, we strive to deliver aid in understanding of the situation, and without offending or embarrassing the recipient.
8. What needs can you respond to and what type of continuity can you provide?
For three years, teachers have helped us have identify children in our eastern provinces who cannot attend school because they are poor. We monitor the need for children’s winter clothing and provide it. We have friends who are responsible for monitoring the food needs of widows and orphans. We support them regularly; sometimes by paying bills, sometimes by paying for children’s education. Sometimes we pay for the treatment of a senior or a child who is ill. We also support people who produce handmade goods. In Hatay, we buy soap from a father who is blind and has three children, and jam from up to 300 widows who are victims of war. In Istanbul, we also buy tomato paste produced by families in need.
We are grateful when those who want to ensure continuity take part in the project. People can deliver their own help or work with us. This can ensure that relationships are established, and it also helps ensure that aid is regularly provided.
9. Where have you delivered aid so far?
We have brought help to 18 cities in Türkiye. We also delivered 13 tons of food aid to 2,000 Afghan refugees in Islamabad. In addition to financial support for the orphanage destroyed in the earthquake on the Indonesian islands of Lombok and Gili, we also offered support for the reconstruction of the mosque. We sacrificed sheep in 104 shares in Khartoum for the Feast of Sacrifice. These are just a few examples.
10. How do you deliver aid?
We contact the relevant authorities of the country or city, we obtain the necessary permits and we provide support.
11. What pushes you the most?
Besides senior citizens struggling with diseases, we are most challenged by orphans who are victims of war – who never laugh, whose smiles are dull.
12. How do you combine aid with art?
Among our volunteer colleagues are calligraphers, marbling artists, lutenists, bendir players, musicians and writers. In September, we organized a concert called “To 7 Continents in 7 Different Languages”, and the proceeds will be used to distribute blankets to the families of war victims, who have just arrived in tent cities. We plan for our calligrapher volunteer to have a calligraphy exhibition at a fair and we plan to support students in the east. We urge our friends who are interested in wood painting, marbling and jewelry to support food and other needs by selling their art in our bazaars.
Some of the voluntary charity projects of Esra Kılıç and the Turkish Airlines team:
- Providing food for families in need in Gaziantep, Kilis and Şanlıurfa
- Providing educational materials, stationery items, clothes, shoes, etc. for students in village schools in Mardin and Şırnak
- Providing food to a girls’ dormitory in Konya Meram
- Providing food for Uzbek and Afghan orphans living in the orphanage in Beykoz, Istanbul
- Providing food and clothes to widows and orphans in women’s shelters in Istanbul
- Providing educational materials, stationery items, clothes, shoes, etc. to the families of students in need in Derince, Izmit
- Providing wood, educational materials, and stationery items to village schools in Mardin Artuklu
- Restoration works of some schools in Şanlıurfa, Birecik and Ceylanpınar
- Providing educational materials, stationery items, and food to families in need and orphans in Van, Ağrı, Sivas and Elazığ
- Providing educational materials, stationery items, and clothes to an orphanage in Bangladesh
- Providing food and clothes to earthquake victims in Indonesia
- Providing 13 tonnes of food to 2000 Afghan refugees living in Islamabad
- Providing financial support to the orphanage and construction support to the mosque that collapsed in the earthquake in Lombok and Gili in Indonesia
- Sacrificed sheep in 104 shares in Khartoum for the Feast of Sacrifice
