July 4, 1999

Dear Daughters of Ataturk:

The main goal of the founding of Daughters_of_Ataturk is to promote the Global Turkish Women whether she lives in the United States of America or New Zealand. One can find the Global Turkish Women in all parts of the world be it a professional career woman or a stay-at-home mom.

One way we can achieve this goal is to be an active member of the society we live in. We need to participate in our local communities, our children's school programs, student organizations at the universities, or other professional and service-oriented clubs. The more active we are, the better chance we have to make a positive impact in our societies.

We should actively participate in the local and/or host country holidays. Why not have a Turkish bazaar during the Christmas holidays for example? Why not hold a gathering during these holidays and invite others so that they could also learn about our culture?

Most newspapers have a "life style' section and they are constantly looking for new ideas to make their newspapers more interesting. It would be a great opportunity to get together with a few friends and invite the newspaper reporters to your home so that they could learn about Turkish culture and heritage. Some churches have speakers from the people in their community, which would also give us a medium to present Turkish culture and heritage.

Public libraries have a story reading/telling time. Why not volunteer to read a Turkish fairy tale? Why not donate a Turkish fairy tale to the library or other books on Turkey?

The opportunities are endless. Again, the local newspapers list opportunities/places to volunteer. Give them a call. You will be glad you did.

Be active in your local Turkish clubs. If the country you reside in has a national Turkish association, support it. If there isn't one, try to establish one. Please check the Daughters_of_Ataturk webpage at www.DofA.org for some important links. These establishments are ready to help you.

Please remember that Daughters_of_Ataturk is here to help you, become an important link and network so that we could all benefit from each other's ideas, suggestions, experiences and implement these in a positive way.

Do write to us, do give us your ideas, and do support us.

Until next time,


Sema Karaoglu