For 26 years I’ve hosted “The American Countryside” radio show. They are “just” stories about people and places, so do they really matter? There are so many bigger issues in our world.
A couple of years ago I was approached with a novel idea. Could we use the show to help share stories about the U.S. with those outside this country and perhaps help them learn English as a second language as well?
GIVE A VOICE
Carl Holtman, who I had interviewed for one of our shows a decade ago, happened to be working in Turkey. He shared the idea with the U.S. Embassy there. The project was called “Be The Voice of Girls.”
A class of about 20 teenage girls from marginalized communities in southeastern Turkey, near the border with Syria, participated in the class. One of the goals was to teach the art of storytelling and help the girls learn to tell their own stories.
Fatma Dodurka was their enthusiastic teacher. Once a month I would join the class on Zoom for an hour. I was there to help the young ladies tell their stories, perhaps help them develop their own version of “The Turkish Countryside.”
The girls began to interview people in their hometown, producing their own show. You could not help but love this class. If you met Fatma only once, you were immediately struck by the energy she had for the project.
As I emailed Fatma on Feb. 5 to discuss our monthly class, her messages to me suddenly stopped. Soon news of a massive earthquake along the Turkish/Syrian border hit the international news.
Fatma and her daughter, Alara, died in the earthquake when their apartment building collapsed. Three other girls in the class died as well. Now, months after the quake, some girls are still living in tents as they await help to rebuild their homes.
POWER OF CONNECTION
There’s a good chance before reading this article, you did not know someone in Turkey impacted by this earthquake. The power of a personal story suddenly makes the situation real to us.
Maybe it was the tale of your great grandparents homesteading a farm that led you to be a farmer. Perhaps it was the story of a friend overcoming challenges that inspired you to tackle a difficult goal. Perhaps it’s personal stories that matter the most.
Fatma’s life continues to give – her story lives forever thanks to her desire to share stories with others.
