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JLI In the News

Turkey Reports: First Graduates of JLI Teens
Şalom Gazetesi (Turkey)
Posted Wednesday, May 14th, 2014

 The first participants of the ‘JLI Teens-A Guide to Life for Youngsters’ program organized under the sponsorship of 70 Windows, have graduated.

Within the scope of the six-week “Is It Legit” program, participants have discussed various topics such as gossip, forgiveness, justified lies, the importance of respecting the privacy of others, respecting the parents, how to behave towards mistreated people or victims. 25 JLI Teens participants have received their certificates. At the graduation ceremony organized by Rıfat Kandiyoti, 2 students have delivered speeches regarding their thoughts and opinions about the program. JLI Teens graduates were presented with their certificates by Chaya Chitrik at the sharing day organized by 70 Windows.

About JLI Teens

JLI Teens Program Coordinator Rıfat Kandiyoti

The JLI Teens program is a six-week education program taught by Chaya Chitrik and it aims to offer an understanding, perception and internalization of the Torah’s teachings within the framework of the life of our youth which is pretty busy and competitive. Today, the life of young people is not easy; following their high school graduation they have to compete for university. With this useful program we aim to guide and help students to figure out how to survive and how to overcome the dilemmas of daily life. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Chaya Chitrik, who all through our program taught us with patience and tried to make a personal contribution, and to Nazlı Doenyas who has always been a great support by participating in classes every week and took care of us every way she could. I think we all have to support similar educational programs so that the young people of our community can understand and develop the mechanisms taught by our Torah concerning their daily lives.

JLI Teens Program Assistant

Nazlı Doenyas

When I first read about the project, my first reaction was how come we never knew about this program and how come we haven’t brought it to Turkey till now. The program aims to be a sort of a life guide for the 15-18 age group and to help them to gain various skills such as the ability to listen and hear their conscience and decide accordingly when facing dilemmas. When I read the weekly content I thought I would benefit from it and I volunteered to be the program assistant. To tell you the truth, this program designed for the 15-18 age groups can also be easily taught to older age groups without any modifications at all. There is surely much to be gained from the program which includes videos, movies, games and interactive work. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the determination of the young participants who despite being tired at the end of the week and despite the traffic at the bridge and similar obstacles, came to Alef and attended the program regularly every week; it really gave me hope. I believe these young people who despite their young age have an awareness of self-development are going to start life one step ahead of the others. I would like to say thank you to dear Chaya Chitrik who taught the program and to dear Rıfat who coordinated it.

Comments from JLI Teens graduates:

Treysi Aşkın: I am attending 11th grade at the Ulus Jewish High School. When I heard about the JLI seminar, I thought the topics were very interesting and that it would be a big opportunity and I decided to join the program. Sharing ideas contributes a lot to a person’s life and I gained many new perspectives about various subjects. I would like to thank everybody who made the program possible.

Yusuf Cenudioğlu: (17, Ulus Jewish High School) I participated in the six-week JLI Teens program because I thought it would contribute to my life at the university. It was a very good program which made me understand more deeply many topics written in the Torah such as “lashon hara” and forgiveness. I think I gained various benefits from each topic. I would like to thank everybody who contributed to the program, and a special thank you to Chaya, Nazlı and Rıfat.

Erel Kantar: (17, Ulus Jewish High School) Before I started the JLI Teens program I didn’t expect the classes to be that entertaining and beneficial. I know that everything I learned is going to help me in my life journey. I would like 70 Windows to continue to organize similar programs.

Klodya Saboy: (16, Ulus Jewish High School) Six weeks flew by without even realizing it. It seems like our first meeting was only yesterday. The seminar gave me the opportunity to consider many subjects with a new perspective and to gain new information. My favourite topic was gossip. I didn’t know how it affected people and now I know. I would like to participate to other similar programs next year. I would like to thank Chaya who taught us, Miss Nazlı who has been with us every week and to Rıfat for inviting me.

Eris Cakon: (17, St.George Austrian High School) I joined the JLI Teens program to understand and reinforce my moral values within the framework of Judaism. I believe during the six week program I have gained new point of views concerning familiar daily events. I would like to thank Chaya and Nazlı.

Yasmin Beyhan: (15, Saint Joseph High School) JLI Teens changed my point of view. I learned a lot by giving only 1.5 hour of my time every week such as the importance of honesty, the wrongness of gossip, the importance of respecting your parents. I would like to thank everybody who contributed to my education.

Olivier Menashe: (17, Pierre Loti High School) I think the JLI Teens program conducted under the leadership of Chaya taught me a lot about the ideal Jewish way of thinking. Most important of all, the program reminded me of the importance of moral values and taught me the rules of communication and their underlying reasons. I am grateful to everybody who contributed to the program, especially to Chaya and Rıfat Kandiyoti.

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