Gov't to stop violence through social projects

Urban violence in demonstrations against the prime minister's southeastern Anatolia visit, where rock-throwing children took center stage, has stirred the government to develop social, cultural and economic standards.

Introducing the Social Support Project, or SODES, the government will try to embrace local people. The plan includes 398 social projects that will be implemented in the provinces of Adıyaman, Batman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Kilis, Mardin, Siirt, Şanlıurfa and Şırnak. The total budget for the projects will be YTL 42 million and the fund will be transferred immediately to the provinces.

Projects
The types of projects Ğ ranging from sports to employment Ğ were determined by the State Planning Organization, or DPT. Following the Southeastern Anatolia Project, or GAP, DPT decided to apply to SODES to ease immigration, unemployment and adaptation problems and to strengthen social life.

The most striking of the 398 projects include "Don't throw stone but score a goal" in Diyarbakır, "Let's restart life" in Gaziantep, "Rest and enjoy" in Kilis, "Traveling Cinema" in Şırnak, "New horizons in tailoring" in Şanlıurfa and "I am a qualified female textile maker" in Mardin.

The government is ready to implement the "Don't throw a stone but score a goal" project in Diyarbakır, which aims to lead youths to sports instead of violence.

Besides this, 53 projects including "Dicle-based scouts discover the country" and an "Envelope and file manufacturing workshop for the visually-impaired" will start in Diyarbakır. A fund of YTL 7 million will be allocated to the province.

For Gaziantep province, there will be 37 projects. These will include projects to help old people and to establish a swimming pool.

SODES foresees kicking off a "kindergarten service" project in Adıyaman.

Targeted to develop sports in the province, the government allocated a fund to Kahta Youth and Sports Directorship of Adıyaman to purchase sports equipment.

Thanks to the fund for the province, tennis courts, a fairytale park and skateboarding park will be established, enriching the city's facilities.

The project will also supply people with professions through training courses such as steel door manufacturing and elevator mounting. The project titled "Everybody should be happy where he is living" will present temporary employment opportunities as well.

Implementing a variety of projects, the government will introduce a "Civil marriage project" in Batman that will be carried out by the Kozluk Governorship of the city. The project will receive a share of YTL 59,500 from the budget while the local league project will get YTL 110,000.

Successful students
Courses for the university entrance exam that target poor but successful students, and financial support for female students toward their education are projects of note in Batman. YTL 900,000 will be allocated for these projects.

"20 Women 20 Business," "Toward sports with a thousand youths" and "Experiencing a city" are among the other projects to be implemented in the region. Another southeast province of the country, Siirt, will host its first "Bicycle race" and "Streetball Feast" with a budget of YTL 18,000 as a SODES project.

There are 67 projects planned for Şanlıurfa. Besides, cultural projects ranging from music to cinema, one of the projects for the province will aim to prevent domestic violence.

Kilis is also among the provinces that will make an initiative with projects such as "I want to produce my own galosh," "You have a home too," "Rest and enjoy," "Training for conscious irrigation methods," "Traveling cinema" and "Preparation courses for secondary school and university."

"Developing stonework," "Each woman is an entrepreneur," "Foremanship training," "Let youths do sports" and "Greening hopes behind bars" are a few of the 34 projects that aim to raise living standards in Mardin.

The ninth province within SODES is Şırnak, where 10 projects will be conducted. "Society center," "Traveling and learning" and "Fairytale parks" are three of these projects.