Sample Social Contribution Practice from Çavdır Vocational School
Yapılış Tarihi | 15 April 2024, Monday
At Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Çavdır Vocational School, an exemplary social contribution practice in line with its mission from universal knowledge to social contribution was implemented. The aim of the practice is to provide psychosocial support to elderly individuals living alone in Çavdır district, increase the health literacy levels of elderly individuals, and strengthen intergenerational solidarity.

Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Çavdır Vocational School has implemented an exemplary social contribution practice in line with its mission from universal knowledge to social contribution. The aim of the practice is to provide psychosocial support to elderly individuals living alone in the Çavdır district, increase the health literacy levels of elderly individuals, and strengthen intergenerational solidarity.
The practice is carried out in cooperation between Çavdır Vocational School and Çavdır District Governorship, under the coordination of Vice Director of Vocational School and Instructor Özge Kutlu. Within the scope of this practice, one student from the Elderly Care Program and one student from the Social Work Program have been paired to form a group, and each group has been matched with elderly individuals living alone or in need of care. As the first step of the practice, students have informed the neighborhood headman where the elderly individual they will visit lives about the practice. This ensured that elderly individuals do not have concerns about the safety of the practice. Following the information session, students have started visiting elderly individuals in their homes.
Providing information about the practice, Instructor Özge Kutlu stated that elderly individuals need support due to various reasons such as physical limitations, cognitive decline, health problems, social isolation, and economic issues as they age. Kutlu emphasized that the support provided to elderly individuals plays a critical role in improving their quality of life and maintaining their independence. She highlighted that providing psychosocial support and care services to elderly individuals not only benefits the elderly individuals but also enables knowledge and experience sharing between young and elderly generations, strengthens social ties, and contributes to the transmission of cultural heritage.
This practice, implemented in Çavdır to reduce the social isolation risk of elderly individuals, support their physical and mental health, increase their participation in society, and make them an active part of the community, allows the knowledge, skills, and experiences learned by students to be used for the benefit of society. Kutlu expressed that this exemplary practice at our Vocational School, which transforms the mission of "from universal knowledge to social contribution" from a discourse to practice, is a model work, stating that "during this practice, students conduct psychoeducation applications aimed at developing health literacy and public literacy planned according to the needs of the elderly individual, engage in various activities such as social activities, physical and mental activities with elderly individuals. This exemplary practice carried out at our Vocational School not only improves the quality of life of the elderly but also strengthens intergenerational solidarity and enhances communication and interaction between elderly and young generations."


