The "MAKÜ Yaşam Hayalleri Gerçekleştiriyor" project, conducted in collaboration with Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Center for Aging Studies Application and Research (YAŞAM) and Burdur Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services, touched the life of 69-year-old Emine Gülay. For Aunt Emine, who never married throughout her life, her childhood dream of a henna night was turned into reality with an emotional ceremony held in the garden of the nursing home.
The henna night was held in the garden of the nursing home
The garden of Hilmi Hafize Evin Nursing Home and Elderly Care and Rehabilitation Center was transformed into a wedding venue with colorful decorations today at noon. The event, which attracted great interest from the guests, started with folk dances. Then, during the traditional henna ceremony, henna was applied to Aunt Emine's hands. The event continued with dance music and refreshments.
"It was my dream, it came true"
Emine Gülay, who wore a wedding dress and experienced a henna night for the first time in her life, had emotional moments. Expressing that her biggest dream came true, Aunt Emine shared her excitement by saying, “I really wanted to have a henna night. I thank my directors and teachers very much, may God bless them a thousand times. I am very happy. I will make the girls dance, apply henna, and collect gold.”
Emotional statements from her brother
Emine Teyze’s brother Mehmet Gülay said in his statement at the ceremony that his sister could not marry for years and experienced such happiness for the first time in her life. Stating that they had a difficult life with their siblings after their mother and father passed away, Gülay said, “I wish she had experienced this happiness in her youth. But we tried to be both mother and father to her as much as we could. Today I am both happy and sad.”
The project that turns dreams into reality
Speaking about the ‘MAKÜ Yaşam Hayalleri Gerçekleştiriyor’ project, which turns the dreams that elderly individuals have kept inside for years into reality one by one, MAKÜ YAŞAM Center Director Assoc. Dr. Deniz Say Şahin said; “As Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Center for Aging Studies Application and Research, we have conducted exactly 30 different mental, social, and cognitive workshops with our nursing home residents in the past year. We went to and from the nursing home every week, and with our students, we had the opportunity to get to know these valuable elders closely and chat with them.
During these conversations, we realized that each of them had an unfulfilled dream inside. It was at this point that our ‘MAKÜ Yaşam Hayalleri Gerçekleştiriyor’ project was born. Together with our Nursing Home Director İbrahim Çetinkaya, we thought, "Why not realize some of these dreams?" and we rolled up our sleeves.
We held our first event with Aunt Emine’s symbolic henna night. Because Aunt Emine had told us several times during our workshop activities:
"I have never married in my life, I have never been a bride. Not a wedding, but I would really like to have a henna night. This remained a longing inside me. You come here in such a crowd, maybe we should have a henna night?"
We wanted to fulfill this sincere wish and took the first step of our project with Aunt Emine’s henna night.
Our events will continue in the coming weeks. We are planning events full of surprises that will make different elders happy. We are very happy to offer these valuable people, each with a life story, the opportunity to realize the dreams they have kept inside.”
This meaningful project not only brings smiles to individuals but also to the community.
