This is the story of Reshide (57) and the account of her experience with IBC Community Centre. Reshide is a Syrian refugee who fled her country in 2011 with her family and settled in Kilis, Türkiye, shortly after the crisis hit. She claims that the most difficult challenge for her was not being able to communicate in the local language but having to live with it.

Reshide then learned about the IBC Community Centre in Kilis supported by CLIP 2, where she enrolled in an A1 Turkish class.  

“When I first arrived in Türkiye, I realised that I could still do my job as a gynaecologist. People in need of treatment have arrived from Syria, as I’ve seen. However, I needed to pass the equivalence exam first. I immediately set out to do that because I had made the decision to live here, and Turkish was my only barrier,” she explains.

Reshide has a son in medical school, a daughter at university and another in high school. She is a mother who is committed to her children’s education, as well as a volunteer who supports other Syrian women in similar contexts nowadays. With the support of CLIP 2 her integration has greatly improved. She is now preparing for the equivalence exam with the purpose of helping other people in Türkiye.

“I learned Turkish at the Blue Crescent Foundation’s Kilis Community Centre. This was the first and most important step in building a new life for me. So, if I were to write my own biography, I would have highlighted it,” she says.

Reshide also actively participates in IBC activities, attends Volunteer Committee meetings and supports the team in sessions on healthy living, pregnancy nutrition and women’s health.