Update: Due to unforseen circumstances in Turkey, the birthday party has been cancelled, but the need for donations is still great. Please donate directly to [email protected] via e-transfer (security answer: Garden).
There was a time not so long ago when Rory Richards could be regularly photographed dancing tango in Buenos Aires, taking a selfie while organizing a fabulous event or gathering frequent flyer miles as she traversed the country working as a public relations specialist and business owner.
But these days, instead of featuring smart cocktail dresses and perfectly coiffed hair, Richards’ photos and selfies are more likely to include a young Syrian child, or 10, taken, sans makeup, in the tiny backyard of a rundown house in a Turkish ghetto located on the wrong side of the tracks in Istanbul.
It all began when Richards decided to volunteer last year to help Syrian refugees attempt the dangerous journey across the water to Lesvos, Greece, to seek asylum from their war-torn country. And just where her journey will end, not even Richards knows. What she does know is she promised a group of street kids living in Istanbul that they would have their first ever birthday party this summer and come hell or high water, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. It’s also one of the reasons Richards chose to remain in Turkey despite the great risk involved. That birthday party will take place in Istanbul Aug. 28. Another birthday party has been planned for Vancouver for the same time, with plans to live stream it.
Because of the difficulty and cost of shipping items to Turkey, Richards is trying to raise money to not only help fund the birthday party, but also the unending list of items needed for the children, including food, medicine and the cost to keep them in school. Richards recently took time out of her busy schedule, which included surviving an attempted overthrow of the ruling government of Turkey, to answer some questions for the Courier. For more information about donating to the birthday party and Richards’ efforts in Turkey, visit gofundme.com/refugeegarden.
How did you end up in Turkey?
I had volunteered in Lesvos, Greece, in the winter of 2015. I set up a night camp on the beaches bringing in boats of refugees. The experiences I had, and the things I saw affected me deeply. It was hard to come back to Vancouver after that and settle into my routine. I knew I had to go back and continue to help. I was about to return when the EU deal took place. The boats stopped from Turkey and so I logically thought that there would then be a bottleneck of refugees trapped there and I went to see what was happening on the Turkish side. What I found here were refugees too vulnerable to make the crossing, including many war widows with young children. There are 800,000 refugees in Istanbul alone. Over half are children. Less than 20 per cent are in school. I decided to stay and roll up my sleeves and do what I could to help. Focusing mainly on getting children off the street and into school. That’s where I met the 11 kids I’ve taken in.
There was a recent attempt to overthrow the government in Turkey. How did you survive that?
I was blindsided by it like everyone else. It was a challenge not knowing the Turkish language. Facebook was shut down and reliable news sources were scarce. All we could hear was the sounds of gun and tank fire and low flying fighter jets that sounded like they were coming right at you. The plan was to lay low and stay inside for as long as we could. Thankfully the house was stocked with food and supplies. And thankfully it ended quickly.
How did you meet these kids?
I was working with a refugee school in a ghetto in Istanbul. One day my translator/partner and I saw a little boy, about five-years old, being beaten up by a Turkish woman outside a grocery store. He had been panhandling. We intervened and I bought him some groceries to bring home to his mom who was a recently arrived Syrian widow. The next day we saw the boy again playing in the street, this time he was with a larger group of kids. We stopped to talk to them. The kids ranged in age from four to 12, and none of them had ever been to school. Most of them were orphans.
I paid their tuitions with donations from friends and enrolled them in school. I wanted to keep tabs on them to make sure they were going to school. The kids started dropping by the house I’m staying in every day after school to do their homework. Then they started coming in the mornings too, and then on weekends. And now they come to the house as soon as they open their eyes every morning. They are like family.
And how many children do you have in your home in a typical day?
We have a minimum of seven or eight and max of 11.
Where are these children from?
They are all war refugees from Syria.
Can you give us the first names of these kids and their ages?
We have 11 in total, including two sets of twins. Little Ragda — four, Zucco — five, Hamood — six, “Itchy and Scratchy” — six, Fatima and Samira — six, Amin — nine, Big Ragda — 10 Hamid — 10, Mahmood — 12.
You’ve managed to help get these kids into school and I understand you had to pay a few parents to allow that to happen. Is that still the case?
Yes, a few were working in factories or selling tissues to help their moms with rent. It is not a good situation in Turkey and every member of the family has to work to survive, even if they are kids. Unfortunately this is not uncommon and is one of the reasons there are so few kids enrolled in school. We pay their moms what they were earning on the street or in the factories so they can go to school. It was the only way. We also help their moms with clothing and medical expenses. As anyone who has kids will know, they are not cheap. Their moms really appreciate what we are doing for their kids. As the saying goes, it takes a village. And we are their village.
How expensive is food and how many mouths are you feeding in a typical day?
Turkey is not a cheap country. I had not been here in many years and was shocked to see that food costs are not that much lower than in Canada. We feed three meals a day to an average of nine kids and two adults. It costs a small fortune. There is no way I could do it without donations from friends and other people that care. I would last a week financing it alone. It has been a huge drain for me personally, but sometimes you are just called to a cause, and I guess this is mine. So I am doing my little part in making sure these kids are loved and supported and valued and not just another forgotten street kid.
And now you’ve become an unofficial kitten rescue. Any new additions? It started with one — now we have four. The newest arrival to show up on our doorstep was Vlad ShooShoo. Everyone in our makeshift family is a ShooShoo, it’s something the kids came up with. I am Mamma ShooShoo, for instance. And the kittens are ShooShoos too. So we have Tango ShooShoo, Baby ShooShoo, Pyscho ShooShoo and now little Vladdy ShooShoo. (This going to sound insane in print.)
The Vancouver birthday party takes place Aug. 28 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 2245 West Broadway. To find out how to attend or how to contribute, visit Facebook and search for Birthday Party for Syrian Refugee Children.
[email protected]
@sthomas10
