The trustees met recently and have agreed to spend some of the money raised over the last couple of months.

With money already received and imminently due from advertising, plus the money received and due from the auction, The KTLN Trust will soon have just over £2,800, which using an exchange rate of 2.5, equates to roughly 7,000 TL.

We have listened to your feedback and consulted with people locally in Kalkan, regarding how the funds should be used. We outline below what we have decided to do.

What you told us
A recurring message is that you want children to benefit in some way, especially in relation to their educational needs.  We also had suggestions that we should assist local elderly people and that we should think about anything we could do to enhance the medical facilities in Kalkan.

We are still talking to the relevant people in Kalkan about medical services and any possible help we could give.  More on this later in a forthcoming local news article.

As far as elderly people are concerned, the advice we have been given is that locally, the elderly are always taken care of by their families.  There are no local old peoples homes, as such.  So our scope for helping here appears to be limited.  We have not identified any obvious candidates.

However, we have identified some ways in which we can help local children.  We have allocated approximately 5,000 TL to be spent.

Kalkan First School
We met with the headmaster of the local first school, Galip Karalan, and had a look round the school.  We discovered that most of the curriculum is online and the school uses these online teaching modules alot.  

In order to maximise the effectiveness of these modules, they have projectors, which display what is on the PC screen to the whole class.  Unfortunately, they don't have enough of these projectors, so their use is rationed between classes.

The trustees have agreed to purchase one projector at a cost of approximately 900TL.  The school could do with more, but for now at least one is a start.

We also found that whilst there are several desktop computers, the school does not have a laptop computer.  A laptop brings great flexibility, and we imagine many of you reading this will understand how useful a laptop computer can be.  For example, if a desktop PC in the school breaks down, a laptop can be brought in quickly so that a lesson is not disrupted.  

It is also easier to use a laptop on those days when activities are taking place outside in the school playground.  If they need to play music outside for example, it's easier to take a laptop outside than dismantling a desktop from a classroom, using it and then setting it back up again in the classroom.

The trustees have agreed to purchase a laptop PC for the school at a cost of approximately 1,100TL.

Support for further and higher education
One thing we should mention is that The KTLN Trust is mindful of the need to operate strictly within Turkish laws, when it comes to collecting and distributing money.  KTLN is a UK based website, and the Trust is based in the UK, for ease of administration.  

When it comes to distributing the money we have raised, we need to do so in the right way, observing Turkish laws and protocols.  This means that we cannot, for example, identify a local family that needs help and simply hand over some cash.  It is far better to pass the cash over to a properly constituted Turkish dernek (association), and ask them to use this money in a particular way.

One such association that we know and trust is the Kalkander Association.  This association has a track record of helping local people, although they do so in a quiet and unobtrusive way, so much of their work goes unnoticed.  They have a particular focus on helping children, particularly in relation to education, and also local culture.

We know that in the past they have assisted children from families with limited income, enabling these children to go on to further and higher education.  At KTLN we recognise the importance of education for both the individual and the wider community.  We feel that providing support for children who have the desire to do well, and better themselves, and their communities, is a worthwhile thing to do.

So, the KTLN trustees have agreed to give 3,000TL to the Kalkander Association, with a request that this money is used to provide support to 4 local children over the next 12 months, as they go on to further or higher education.  As the children will be away from home, the money will be used to help with their day to day living expenses.  The Kalkander Association will ensure that the money is appropriately targeted.

The identities of these individuals must remain private, however the Kalkander Association will provide KTLN with general information about the children concerned, so that we can know how they are doing.  So we can perhaps know where they are studying, what they are studying and how they are managing.  We will pass this information on to you from time to time, so that you can see how your money is being used.

Thank you
It's impossible to spend the money raised through The KTLN Trust in a way that will satisfy 'all of the people all of the time'.  However, the trustees have given careful thought to how the money is spent, and have made these decisions in good faith.  We hope that you will agree these are worthwhile causes.
 
If you have already given something, we thank you.  If not, The KTLN Trust is still open for donations if you would like to give something.  Please click here for more information on how to donate.

Details of income and expenditure will be posted soon in the Donations Update page.