Human Resource Development Foundation

Human Resource Development Foundation is established in the ‘80s when urbanization has reached a peak in our country. Through over the 30 years, fulfilling reproduction health needs caused by rapid population growth and raising healthy generations for development is one of the priorities of the HRDF. HRDF always cares about migration notion which is one of the most important elements of the population and conduct studies about this issue. First years of its establishment HRDF, makesa contribution to strengthening reproduction health and its rights and conducts projects about raising personnel who are working in the reproduction health field’s service presentation capacities including family planning and safe motherhood. Besides, it conducted peer counselor programs towards sex workers and with the support of preventing HIV/AIDS studies, it applied programs to place sexual health educations in the university curriculum. In 2004 HRDF, started a study to support human trafficking victims which are the most sensitive group of people among irregular migrants and support approximately 550 victims in a refugee house. HRDF is a founder member of the Turkish Refugee Council, it is an accredited institution in the United Nations Population Fund and has a special counselor status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Works Towards Refugees

HRDF’s first theme with the refugees happened in 1989. HRDF conducted a program to support cognate Turkish people’s integration to our country who came to Turkey from Bulgaria in the process where the Soviet Union was falling apart and in addition to that until 2002 it made projects in a microscale about supporting reproduction health of the refugees who were living in Niğde and Van. Between the years 2002 and 2007, first in İstanbul and then in Ankara, they started psychological support activities towards refugees in their offices. In 2007 HRDF became one of the application partners of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and from that moment it started to provide psycho-social support services for all the refugees including children in their offices which is located in Ağrı, Ankara, Bilecik, Eskişehir, Kütahya, İstanbul, and Van. In this 7 provinces, refugee support offices inform needy people about their rights, support approaches based on rights, provide psycho-social and legal counseling service to the individuals, develop early determination and preventing mechanisms towards groups who are under the risk, determine human trafficking victims among refugees and lead them to the relevant services, strengthen society based approaches while making applications and structures that makes easy to communicate, dialog and mutual support in project provinces, and conduct activities about raising awareness based on refugees rights within the framework of national or international legislation. Project crew, make strong relationships with local authorities and civil society organizations to make their capacity high to enhance the refugees’ living conditions and provide them basic services.