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yesilay.org.tr
13
YEŞiLAY
•
SPRING 2015
We can define this
group as com-
prised of young
people. It is
not much
possible for
someone
who is aged
40 and did
not smoke or
drink ever to
become addicted
after 40. Therefore
the young people aged
up to 25-30 constitute our
main target group. Our one of
the most important strategy is
to include them in our struggle.
The reason is that the teenagers
and the young do not like it when
grown-ups, educators, institu-
tions or some authority dictate
them something. They react
to it with what may be called a
youth reaction. We bring youth
branches, groups and clubs of
secondary school, high school
and university through the
brand of Young Green Crescent and after raising their
consciousness through training on this issue, we enable
them to warn their peers, friends and fellows against
addiction through peer education. This is a more accept-
able, functional and effective method for the young. We
use this method in to a wide and common extent.
The Green Crescent is opening up new branches
throughout Turkey. How do you evaluate the import-
ance of opening up branches which could inform people
about the Green Crescent and addictions both at the
national and local level and operating all branches based
on volunteering?
It is of high importance that a non-governmental
organization which addresses the whole society, the
young and old alike, through an issue like public health
could penetrate the capillary vessels of the society and
reach citizens living in the most distant areas as well. To
empower the organizations and opening up branches is
the most natural way for a NGO to empower its or-
ganizations national level. Therefore together with our
friends in the managing department, we deemed it very
important to be organized and open
up branches as of the day we were
appointed for the task. We set up
a network between branches
from nearly of all cities. In this
way, we developed a method
which does not only carry out
consciousness raising and
training activities through mass
communication operated from a
center, but also directly reaches
people living in every corner of Tur-
key and touches people more vulnerable
to enable an addict. We could reach a wider
mass of people in this way and help support people
to adopt and contribute to this struggle in their
locality, region and cities.
THE WORLD FEDERATION OF GREEN
CRESCENT IS TO BE FOUNDED
The Green Crescent begins to organize inter-
nationally as well. What is the aim of the Green
Crescent by founding Green Crescents in different
countries and by cooperating and co-working with
many international health authorities?
One of the things we have been reiterating since we
took office and defined as our vision is internation-
alization; in order words, to spread the struggles of
the Green Crescent to the world and to make the
Turkish Green Crescent Society an example and
leader in this field. The reason and logic behind this
is that addiction cannot be specific to any country,
any region, society, ideology, religion or identity.
Addiction is a universal problem, a threat and
danger for the whole world. Therefore we thought
that an institution like the Green Crescent, which
has been serving people in their struggle against
addiction for a century, should expand its mission,
knowledge and experience to other societies,
cultures and countries. Therefore, we wanted other
countries to set up their own Green Crescents. In
the last year, we led the drive for more than 20
countries to found their own Green Crescents. We
also aim to found an International Green Crescent
Federation out of these Green Crescents in the
year of 2015. Every culture and society will be able
to share its experiences with other and hence, we
will have developed an organization which fights
against addiction throughout the world.
We thought that
an institution like the
Green Crescent, together
with the Green Crescents
of the country, should share
its mission, knowledge and
experience with other
societies, cultures and
countries of the
world