Member Spotlight Funda Yakupoglu
(ORTA-O): What brought you to the Pacific Northwest and when did you became an ORTA member?
(Funda Yakupoglu - FY): My husband Baha got a great job opportunity in Oregon, and we moved here in 2019. A few months later in 2020 I learned about ORTA and became a member.
(O): For those who are not familiar with the Kids Club, tell us a little bit about it.
(FY): One of the core principles of the club is to provide a social environment where Turkish families and kids living in the Portland area can express freely and comfortably while speaking Turkish. Children who join the club create strong bonds with other kids and with our volunteers who coordinate engaging activities. These bonds will last a lifetime.
(O): What kind of activities do you coordinate for the children?
(FY): Most activities are based on games to make them fun, and revolve around reading books and telling fairy tales. The content of these activities is aligned to the pre-school and school age groups and are continuously being shaped based on the needs of our children. In addition to this, our events are complemented with short presentations from our volunteers who share their perspectives.
(O): Sounds like a fun way to learn new things. What kind of perspectives are shared by volunteers?
(FY): They all come from different backgrounds, different professions and have diverse hobbies. For example, Sercan shared his passion for cycling, Özcan told them about being a pilot, Ayse shared what is like to play a musical instrument and Timur introduced them to the importance of voting. These activities attract our children's attention towards people who speak the same language as their parents and at the same time have different professions and hobbies. We are very grateful for our volunteers, and we expect to continue having more of these presentations with your growing support!
(O): How is the collaboration between the Kids Club and ORTA?
(FY): The Kids Club has been going on for two years, and it was founded under the ORTA extended umbrella. Therefore, we work in collaboration with ORTA executive committee in all kinds of events. The Kids club is shaped based on the needs of the Turkish families living here and the volunteering capacity of the people in our community. While the people we address and the content we develop for events are different, we teamed up with team ORTA executive committee and they have given us a lot of support and visibility, strengthening our group.
(O): Why is it important to have this space for our future generations?
(FY): Our children, especially those who are born here, will grow up immersed in the American Way of living and American culture in general. Therefore, it will be hard for them to establish a cultural connection with their Turkish parents and relatives living in Turkey. They need a sense of belonging in an environment where only Turkish is spoken, like when they go to Turkey. They need to develop and embrace the responsibility of transferring the Turkish culture from generation to generation, while living here in the US.
It is very valuable for our children who attend the volunteers’ presentations, to realize that their parents are not alone in America, that there are many parents who grew up in Turkey like their own parents, and whose children are growing up here too. I am sure that this environment we create in the club will lead our kids to see the future with increased self-confidence from their family roots perspective, and raise a sympathy for the Turkish culture.
(O): How do you see the future of the Kids Club? How do you see the leadership evolving?
(FY): The Kids club is mainly a voluntary team of parents (special thanks to Seda, Sebnem, and Bahadir). Our friend Hande, who was a class teacher for many years in Turkey, joined the club last year and they became the skeleton of the team as a family. Görkem came and contributed to every event without even mentioning she was living an hour away.
Of course, we always need new volunteers and new faces for a healthy club development. That’s simply because there is a period of volunteering work, and new ideas are always needed in the team.
I am here making a volunteer call to our current parents, and parents whose children might be joining our club after reading this interview, and to ORTA members who can contribute with their expertise in their own field. Please contact me and together we can move the club much further.Our email address is KidsClub@ORTAPDX.org
(O): Tell us more about yourself, what keeps you busy every day?
(FY) My children! 😂 It really takes a village to raise a child, I shape most of my time here in line with their needs.
(O): What about personal time, do you have any hobbies?
(FY): I like listening music from different genres. I do kickbox and yoga, and recently, I started to do more kayaking with my family.
(O): If you were to recommend ORTA to a newcomer, what would you say is the biggest benefit?
(FG): I would say don't worry about being alone, away from Turkey, and become an ORTA member for the opportunity to meet with wonderful people that grew up in the same culture as you
(O): Any final ask or recommendation for our members?
(FY): The only other thing I noticed with the Kids Club is that all the ORTA activities require great effort and volunteers. Please consider volunteering to all kinds of activities with ORTA and ORTA Kids Club.