The last training within the scope of the volunteering program that Project Lift, the main psychosocial support program of Maya Vakfı, has carried out since 2014 was held at Istanbul Bilgi University’s Incubation Center.
With the last training, the number of volunteers that Maya Vakfı has trained to assist therapists in the field of “psychosocial support” exceeded 400 with the addition of new participants.
As a result of the trainings, 151 of these volunteers from different nations, the majority of which are aged 18-24, are now able to actively carry out fieldwork at any given moment. All of the volunteers are fluent in English, while most speak English and Turkish, and 87 speak Arabic and English with some knowledge of Turkish. This creates a significant opportunity in terms of providing field support for organisations working with refugees from the Middle East.
After applications for volunteering are received at regular intervals, volunteers go through orientation in groups and then receive training from clinical therapists. The volunteers who successfully complete the training process and are deemed qualified are assigned to workshops within the Project Lift program to assist the clinical team. Volunteers gain field experience in these workshops, and under the observation & supervision of clinical therapists strengthen their social connections with one another during integration activities organised after each workshop.