“Life is simple with Internet” project introduced the digital world to women who strove to exist in work life in the remotest parts of Turkey, and opened the door for many women to overseas.

“Life is simple with Internet” project, through Internet literacy training delivered by 300 young volunteers across Turkey, opened the door for women to the digital world. Women in rural Turkey achieved the impossible through the project. Ms. Sıdıka Cengizer, who owns a wedding gown and hairdressing parlour in Suruç, Şanlıurfa now sells wedding gowns with local embroidery to Japan thanks to the website of her business. Following the training she received under “Life is simple with Internet” project, Ms. Semihe Şengül of 70, owner of a local delicacies restaurant in Sinop, now sells hand-made lace work, noodles and pastes to the United States through the portal of her business

Implemented in 54 provinces of development priority in Turkey, “Life is simple with Internet” project is now scaling up to all 81 provinces this year. Under the project, a total of 30,000 people received training, most of whom lived in the rural areas and 19,000 were women.

Volunteer trainer Gökçe: “We aspire to touch hearts”

Working as a volunteer trainer in “Life is simple with Internet” project, and student in Business Administration Department of Ege University in Izmir, Ms. Gökçe Uygur said for the project: “Under the project, our aunts themselves take their appointments for hospital visit. Through e-state, they can view the grades of their children. They can view lacework samples, soap samples on the Internet. We aim to demonstrate that they can access anything. Particularly, our women in villages who used to have difficulty accessing the cities now say the state has arrived at our feet. We aspire to touch hearts.”

She learned Internet at age 70, sold handicraft products to the United States

Ms. Semihe Şengül, who learned Internet at age 70 in the training delivered by the volunteers, is another personality who carried her success story to overseas. She operates a restaurant in Sinop, as well as markets her hand-made products such as noodles, pastes, meat pasty on her website; and recently made a sale to the United States over the Internet. Ms. Şengül said “Internet opened up my horizons; now I see better. I learned all over there. I shipped my very beautiful hand-made products to the United States. I sold to the United States over the Internet. I knitted Ayancık flaxen beautifully, shot pictures; posted it on the Internet and it was sold. I shipped according to the order. I gained many beautiful stuff from there. My place benefitted considerably from the Internet. I repaired my place, restoring it nicely. I cook delicious meat pasties, cheese pasta. I host the guests; I accept acquaintances and good people as boarders at my home.”

Wedding gowns from Suruç to Japan

Ms. Sıdıka Cengizer who owns a wedding gown and hairdressing parlour at Suruç district of Şanlıurfa, enlarged her business, which she started up under difficult circumstances, through receiving orders from social media sites over the Internet, thanks to the training she received under “Life is simpler with Internet”. She narrated her success story of selling wedding gowns to Japan over the Internet: “I am married for 9 years, have two children. I received training to work and support my home and business. Since “Life is simpler with Internet” training, I have been doing 90% of my sales over the Internet. My hairdressing parlour has a website where I actively receive orders. I ship to all parts of Turkey. About 80 of my clients come to me over the Internet. Now I have 4,500 followers. Over the Internet, I shipped products everywhere including Istanbul, Izmir, Gaziantep, Bilecik. I shipped products even to Japan. They were happy. Now I receive more orders. They send me messages; I ask them what products they wish. It is enough that they send me a photograph; I get it sewn. I receive their address over the Internet and ship the product through cargo-couriers.”

“Life is simpler with Internet” project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Türk Telekom and Habitat Association.