Our Story
A very large earthquake occurred in Turkey on February 6, 2023. This earthquake affected 12 provinces. More than 50,000 people died. There were many people who were injured, whose homes were destroyed, and who became disabled. One million children were directly affected by this disaster. After the earthquake, the whole public mobilized to minimize the negative effects of the earthquake. Efforts were made to heal the wounds of the earthquake as soon as possible. A lot of ground has been covered. Undoubtedly, it will take many years for these wounds to be completely healed.
Mehmet Teber is a well-known child mental health specialist in Turkiye. One of his areas of interest is therapeutic, that is, healing stories. Teber, who frequently uses therapeutic stories in her work with children, also provides training in this field. Teber started to share healing stories for children on her social media accounts during the pandemic period that affected the whole world. His article and the 10 stories he shared reached hundreds of thousands of children in a short time. It was voiced, cartoons were made and included in educational programs by official institutions.
Teber, who took action again from the moment the earthquake occurred, published 10 healing stories about the earthquake and its effects over time. For children who are afraid, whose homes were destroyed, who were injured, who migrated, who changed schools, who were pulled out from under rubble, who lost relatives in the earthquake. These stories reached millions of people. It was translated into 10 languages such as English, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and Azerbaijani by volunteers. It has been the subject of lectures, projects, trainings and various scientific research.
Seeing the stories, Aisha Selime Kundakçı decided to bring them to life with a visual work on a voluntary basis. Special habitat and bird designs were considered for the stories. These were then modeled in 3D. Music from Celtic culture specific to these stories was chosen. Afterwards, all that was left was the animation and vocalization of the work. During the dubbing phase, Merve Gülcemal stepped in and sang all the stories voluntarily. At the end of 9 months of work, the stories came to life.
Due to the floods, fires, earthquakes, wars and destructions that occurred all over the world, the idea of presenting these stories for the benefit of the whole world came to the fore. The stories have been renewed for all possible disasters and disasters. Thus, the Healing Stories website, which broadcasts in Turkish, English and Arabic, started broadcasting on February 6, 2024, the anniversary of the earthquake.
With the hope that millions of children will be healed…