Our Voices reporter spoke with Help-In-Hands’ president, Lynn Cole, about many things from the establishment of the association to its future projects.

How long have you been in Didim, do you live here all the time?

Yes, I’ve been here for 14 years. Like many people, we came to Didim for a 2-week vacation. Then we bought a house on a site with a beautiful beach, Martı Sitesi, and stayed in Didim.

How and when did you establish the association?

After purchasing the house, we encountered foreigners who needed help in Didim on this site. The desire to help them pushed us to find this association.

The association’s work was initially focused on helping foreigners with their residence and passport problems. Afterward, we talked to members of the association that the group would not proceed in this way; we were encountering many people who needed help in other matters as well, and that’s how we reorganized the association’s work.

What do these cover?

Our work is shaped by people’s needs. For example, when we saw that the beaches were not suitable for the use of the disabled, we built disabled ramps, toilets for the disabled, and garbage cans on the beach.

We have also worked on the special needs of both adults and children with disabilities. We bought wheelchairs for those in need. Of course, there were things that didn’t go as we wanted at the beginning, but now we are a well-established association that works every week.

How many people were in the group at the beginning, and how many are you now?

When the group was first established, I think we were 6 people. Now we are about 30 people. There are both locals of Didim and foreigners in the group. We have a great team of volunteers working behind the scenes, who play a very important role in the success of the association. This is a very beautiful thing.

Are there things you do regularly to raise funds? Do you accept donations?

Our group is now at the market every Saturday. The money for the things we sell is kept to reach those in need. Turks are also interested in what we do, they learn what we do and help them. Of course, we also accept donations.

How can people reach you? What can those who want to support do?

Didim Help-In-Hands Facebook page is active. There is also our WhatsApp link. You can also share my direct phone number as a contact number: 05379451029.

Those who want to support can also donate money by contacting the same links. They can donate clothes. They can visit our booth in the Saturday market.

What are your future projects?

Although nothing has been finalized yet, we want to embark on a very big project: It is a fact that autistic students need special attention. We are currently dreaming of a project that will bring about the opening of separate classrooms in schools for students with autism.