Şaban Tören Makes a Difference in Children's Lives with Art
On 14 February 2010 Sabancı Foundation's "Turkey's Changemakers" program hosts Şaban Tören, a cofounder of the Beykoz Foundation, which aims to develop the children of Beykoz community in İstanbul through the power of art.
Şaban Tören has lived in Beykoz, which is a small district in İstanbul, for three generations and he opens a new door to children of Beykoz through Beykoz Foundation of which he is the president. Tören is one of the founders of the Foundation and it was established to contribute to the development of the region.
Beykoz is a poor region where low-income families have experienced financial problems after the closing of several plants. Now the region has been changing significantly thanks to the efforts of Şaban Tören. Tören uses arts to protect children from mafia, drugs, and dangers of the streets and to discover new artists among them. In this respect, two projects, "Little Fiddlers Music Group" and "Theatre-therapy" introduce children to art. These projects provide the children of Beykoz with music or theatre lessons at a very low cost. The fees go towards providing free lessons to those who cannot afford the costs. There are also scholarships for the children of low-income families. "Preparing for Life Project", supported by Beykoz Foundation, provides free violin lessons for 100 children and free theatre lessons for another 100 children. The Foundation plans to increase the number of children to 1.000 next year.
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