Hüsne D.
Study Abroad
Our school is life itself, Continuing until our very last breath. We are all students on the path of existence, And our report cards are the beauties reflected from broken hearts...
Stop for a moment and look around; listen closely, Those who easily flee from their responsibilities, Living without knowing anything beyond themselves, Have long since acted as if they’ve graduated from humanity.
— h/İÇ/sel k/ALEM
Today, I met a mother who has given her all—striving, knocking on every door, and rushing from one place to another—just so her child, or rather her children, could receive an education.
Mother Hüsne...
When she told the reception that her child needed an internship, my colleagues directed her to Human Resources. Once the true nature of the situation came to light, my colleague Muammer called to summarize the story. Afterward, I sat down with her to listen to the truth of the matter.
Hüsne Hanım is a mother of three, and all of them are students—and quite successful ones, Mashallah. The youngest son is in high school, the middle daughter is in her second year of university, and the reason for today’s visit is our eldest daughter, Berra, who is on the verge of becoming a Genetic Engineer.
Berra had previously been accepted for an Erasmus program in Spain. However, due to the family's inability to secure the necessary funds quickly and her professor's refusal to grant extra time—substituting her with an alternate student—she was left both heartbroken and disappointed. Fortunately, it wasn't long before another university accepted her.
The family’s only income is the father's salary. To make matters worse, their home entered mandatory urban transformation last month, and the process of finding a new home and moving exhausted all their savings, even leaving them in debt. Now, they have until May to gather the necessary funds to send our future engineer abroad, with the prayer that she will return to continue her academic life and do great work for future generations.
Hüsne Hanım explained all of this with such haste, anxiety, and sincerity that at first, she didn’t even hear me say, “It’s alright, God willing, let’s do whatever is necessary. Tell Berra to start the school and travel procedures.”
“Please, she is such a successful and determined child; don't let her dreams be shattered by poverty. I would have found a way, even by taking on more debt, to send her—but the house situation happening at the same time...” If I hadn't stopped her, she would have poured her heart out for hours seeking a solution. I repeated... “It’s alright, God willing, this matter is entrusted to us.”
She stopped... She froze... For a while, she couldn't speak. Then she asked, just to be sure, as she had clearly knocked on many doors before without result: “What do you mean 'alright'? Will you help? Will you send my child to her school?”
Simply nodding my head in confirmation was enough to turn her tears into tears of joy.
We sent off this mother, who arrived with doubts and the fear of not being enough for her child, with a sense of inner peace. May her prayers be upon you and light the path her child travels, God willing.
