Kathy Scruggs and Pat Lowther were Peace Corps volunteers in Turkey during the 1960s. After more than 4 decades, they are returning in May to lead a 3 week HasNa English language program. Kathy and Pat will travel to Diyarbakir, Turkey to train 16 NGO professionals, including board members and volunteers. English language training is […]
Traveling to Turkey
HasNa has been working in Turkey since 1998, applying its unique model to promote peace through understanding. Our projects are the result of dedication to our mission and also hard work and commitment from local partners and project participants. Successful projects require input from local organizations and individuals. They also require passionate participants who take what […]
Have you heard of a Washington Orange?
In Turkey, all sweet, juicy oranges are called Washington Oranges. When we received a project proposal to help improve citrus production in Turkey we learned that the Washington Orange is originally from Brazil and produced in California and Florida. But since it was originally imported from the U.S., now all sweet, juicy oranges are simply known […]
CFP Alumni featured in The Elders’ Documentary
Missing persons in Cyprus has been a painful subject for both Greek and Turkish Cypriots for many years. During the inter-communal conflict in the 1960s, many were killed whose remains were never recovered. As of 2006, “Some 1,500 Greek Cypriots and 500 Turkish Cypriots are officially registered as missing on Cyprus.”* The Cyprus Friendship Program […]
Assessing our Impact
How are we doing? Are we making an impact with our programs? To what degree are we achieving our mission? These are questions NGOs must ask themselves time and again to ensure that they are indeed making a difference. HasNa completed a comprehensive survey of our program graduates to assess the impact we have made […]
HasNa in Turkey
Everywhere you look, on TV, in print, online… Turkey’s resurgence as a regional and economic power is making headlines. Last October’s edition of The Economist included a special report on Turkey, detailing the successful strides the country has made in the last decade and also the unresolved issues that still need to be addressed. One […]
CFP aboard the Peace Boat
HasNa’s Cyprus Friendship Program is not merely a month long program in the U.S. The goal of CFP is to instill a lifelong commitment of promoting peace in the CFP teenagers and encourage them to participate in activities after they return to Cyprus. On November 21, 2010, CFP teens met with a group of students […]
HasNa’s Plans for 2011
Our two main goals this year are to expand into new areas in Cyprus and to build sustained dialogues with local communities in Turkey. We are developing a citizen journalist program in Cyprus to provide training for youth that want to facilitate dialogue and cross-cultural interaction between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. Individual citizens have […]
New at HasNa
Hello, I am Duygu Soyer from Ankara, Turkey. I have worked in the non-profit sector voluntarily and professionally for ten years. I first met HasNa in April as a participant of Program Manager Training 2010. It was a well-designed, comprehensive training program aimed at helping to develop NGOs and managers. The program taught us about […]
Improve quality of life by volunteering
Volunteering, in any capacity, has beneficial effects on one’s physical and emotional wellbeing. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development, “volunteering leads to better health” and…”[t]hose who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who don’t […]