What power does a scholarship hold? More than we can imagine. Even a modest stipend for a high school student can change the course of a life. It can enable a young woman from a small village to become the first doctor her community has ever known. It can help a determined student break barriers as the first in her family to attend Brown University. It can empower a graduate to lift her entire household with a steady income from the healthcare profession she now holds.
When financial support is combined with mentorship, guidance, and emotional encouragement, the impact multiplies. That is exactly what our partner PAYDA provides. Working in small towns across Türkiye, PAYDA has an extraordinary gift for identifying bright, promising young women and standing beside them for life. From scholarships to mentorship, PAYDA not only helps students achieve their goals, it often gives them the courage to dream them in the first place.
We’d like you to meet a few of them—among many others—who are just as inspirational and bright. Each is supported by PAYDA in every possible way through grants from TPF, made possible by your generosity.
Meet Esra
Born and raised in Batman, Esra has seven siblings. Her parents never went to school, and their literacy level is novice. Her father works as a construction worker, with no stable income, and moves from one construction to another in the labor force. Her mother who raised Esra and her siblings is a housewife.
As her parents experienced both financial and social challenges that rose from lack of education, it’s been a priority in their household to go to school. No matter which school or where, all family members were encouraged to learn to read and write as opposed to Esra’s parents, and get a college degree so that they can all have a brighter future and a place in our society. One field comes to mind in southeastern Turkiye as the best option for all children to pursue for a steady income and job safety - healthcare. Not surprisingly, all of Esra’s older brothers and sister are working in the healthcare sector as technicians and sociologists.
And Esra holds on to the family tradition. She studied medicine at Mersin University and started working last week at the emergency care at a public hospital in Siirt. She takes pride in being the first doctor in her family and treating her patients with care in the region she feels at home. Esra always had good grades in school but the financial difficulties in her household almost held her back despite her parents’ devotion to support her.
Thanks to your generosity, Esra has been able to graduate from high school and college and become a doctor in the region, and gives back to her community. She still remembers with a smile on her face the day the PAYDA team paid a visit to her home in Batman, and met with her family. That visit made her feel special, and a true part of the PAYDA family. Today, she is proud to be the first medical doctor in her family. And she cherishes each and everyone one of you as her champions all the way from Siirt.
Meet Revsen
Revsen’s story is nothing but extraordinary. Born and raised in Mardin, she has been the star of her high school, Mardin Fen Lisesi. Her grades were top notch since elementary school, and that showed in all of her exams. She was accepted to Robert College, which requires 500/500 in high school exams but her family did not want her to go to Istanbul, boarding at that age. As she was saddened to stay in Mardin not being able to pursue her dreams of studying at her dream school, Revsen did not give up. She focused on her studies and taught herself English, at a pretty advanced level. Her life changed when she met with PAYDA during their visit to Mardin and took her under their wings to support her in every means.
Revsen was selected to join PAYDA’s RCIMUN (Robert College International Model United Nations) project –a conference where 500+ students from different backgrounds get together, leaving their ecosystem behind and engage with their peers around daily discussion topics and practice English. That project changed Revsen, reshaped her dreams and vision of her future. She decided there and then that she would like to go pursue her college degree in the States, where she can get the top-notch education with countless opportunities. And this time, she wouldn’t let anyone hold her back. Her hard work combined with PAYDA’s guidance on college applications, and financial support for SAT exams, she realized her dreams. She got into Brown University with a full scholarship. She is the first student from Mardin High School accepted to an Ivy League university in the States and hopefully, she won’t be the last. PAYDA even convinced her parents to allow Revsen to go to Brown University, explaining the uniqueness of her success and the importance of such educational opportunities.
Inspired by her meeting with Feryal Ozel, Revsen majored in astrophysics, and graduated with distinction. Today, she works as a science teacher at a charter high school where she takes pride and joy in reaching out to students coming from disadvantaged communities, and making a difference in their lives through science. She would like to continue academics and pursue a PhD degree in the future. As she is grateful for all the support that enabled her to realize her dreams and get out of her ecosystem in Mardin, she considers PAYDA as her family who she can count on no matter what.
Meet Yasemin
Yasemin will be the first female doctor in her village, Idil in Sirnak. It was such a big moment for her community that all the villagers came to her home to congratulate her on acceptance to Koc University’s Medical School with full scholarship.
Her success story started at an early age, always motivated by her father who called her “Professor Doctor Yasemin” at home. Bright and hardworking, she focused on her studies and that didn’t go unnoticed by PAYDA. She was in high school when PAYDA volunteers took her under their wings, and supported her more than financially. Through mentors, and camps around social development, Yasemin found herself surrounded by an amazing community who cheered for her to realize her dreams. As she studies medicine at Koc University, she’s passionate about discovering other fields such as psychology and political science to equip herself with all the opportunities she could find.
Her dream is to complete her degree in Turkiye, and then continue her studies in the United States. After traveling to the States last year for an internship through PAYDA’s incredible network, she decided then and there that she would like to earn her specialty in the States. Her time here made her feel so welcome that she would like to experience this culture where everyone is accepted and appreciated as who they are. Progress in the medical field being top notch in the States is another contributing factor to her dream of studying here and becoming the best in her field.
Even when Yasemin had lost her mother unexpectedly a couple of years ago, she was resilient in a remarkable way that she scored on top in her studies. As an inspiring, hardworking woman in her twenties, she shows us how much young women from disadvantaged communities can accomplish if they’re provided with opportunities in life. It’s your kindness and support that enables Yasemin and many others in Turkiye to push the boundaries of inequalities in life. Yasemin will be the first female doctor in her village, and with your support, her journey is only beginning.
Esra, Revşen, Yasemin… these are just three among hundreds of young women whose lives have been transformed by PAYDA, each breaking through the inequalities they were born into. With your support, they are becoming doctors, scientists, teachers, and changemakers but more importantly, leaders who will shape their communities and inspire generations to come. Thank you for investing in their futures, and in the brighter, more equitable world they are creating.