Date of Project: January 2021- December 2021
Funded by: Hackney Giving
Coordinator: Gulnur Salih
Project Worker: Papatya Alkan Genca
Covid-19 Turkish Messenger Project aimed to help the Turkish speaking community have access to clear, up-to-date, and reliable information about Covid-19 regulations, news, and developments. We translated and disseminated the latest government info prepared by Public Health on social media and WhatsApp groups, so that our service users and community could understand it easily.
Throughout the project, service users were informed about self-isolation, the test and trace programme, vaccination, and the new guidelines. When they had questions of their own, they were answered promptly. Whenever they had more specific questions that required an expert opinion, these questions were relayed to Public Health.
Three interviews were held: one on testing, one on mental health, and one general interview introducing the project. All were shared on social media.
- CARRIED OUT SURVEYS AMONGST TURKISH COMMUNITY : We have carried out 2 surveys with 81 participants (31 in the 1st survey and 50 in the 2nd) on vaccine uptake within Turkish community. The results show that vaccine hesitancy is low and vaccine uptake high within the sample Turkish community. Misinformation and scary reporting on the news continue to be the basis for much of the vaccine hesitancy within the community, even though it is low. The possibility of travel limitations for the unvaccinated, health benefits, and the desire to return to a “normal” life were as cited as the drive behind the willingness to get the vaccine. Limited command of English remains to be one of the obstacles in front of access to resources and clear and direct communication of government messages among the Turkish community. These findings highlight the importance and necessity of continued service provided by associations like TCCA in bridging the gap and bringing in different stakeholders.
- DISTRIBUTION OF COVID-19 RAPID FLOW TESTS : to Turkish community. We have also distributed Rapid Flow Tests on three separate occasions to a total of 75 people. We used these as opportunities to have face-to-face dialogue on Covid-19.
- We participated in a live streaming interview with held by TTFF (Turkish Community Football Federation) to introduce Covid-19 Turkish Messenger Project to a wider audience.
- Last but not least, we were present at the special walk-in event at John Scott Vaccination Centre on 9 June 2021, where we got the chance to prepare a slideshow that shows step-by-step what happens at a vaccination centre. We then shared this visual both in our social media accounts and with the Public Health representatives present at John Scott.
We were able support Turkish community during the Covid-19 worldwide outbreak by providing information from government and emotional support.
