Mavi-Kalem is involved in many ongoing projects that range from single events to ongoing education. Since 2000 we have accomplished over 25 projects in Fener-Balat with substantive results.
They have improved the day-to-day quality of life for many of the families in the neighborhood, and given their children a chance to succeed which they did not have before.
ON WOMEN: We have done field work to research the subjects we can aid these women with. We noticed that they are especially uneducated with respect of hygiene and other health issues. Health education projects in association with Marmara University have given classes on health, hygiene, children and baby nutrition, reproductive health dangers and birth control. Reproductive Health Workshops educate women that work in agriculture about Family planning, menopause and Birth control methods. On the other hand, many discussions about violence were held among women. The Awareness of Domestic Violence Project helped open the "Notice Violence and Stop It!" exhibit. Education in sewing, crafting small accessories and painting clothes and jewelry was given to create a way for women to make some income. Some of the ongoing projects are as follows:

1. OUR BODIES OURSELVES Turkish Translation and Adaptation Project "Our Bodies, Ourselves," first published by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective in the early 1970s and translated into 18 languages since then, will now be translated and adapted by our Women Projects Group with its new 2005 version. The book is informative about a woman's spiritual and physical health. " Our Bodies, Ourselves;" will be a woman based book and the experiences of our Consultive Group, which consists of 12 women NGOs, will be included. www.bedenimveben.org

2. Women's Health Education Initiative: We arranged for various faculties from the Marmara University Health Education Department to visit houses in the Fener-Balat region. They teach interactive classes in the field for six months on subjects including health, hygiene, infant nutrition, reproductive health and birth control. Over 220 women are reached by this project every summer. Additionally, we have an ongoing outreach program to raise awareness about domestic violence.
ON CHILDREN: It's important to learn from children as you teach. Similar to women in Balat, children have a need for self-expression. Mavi Kalem gave a variety of lessons to kids for their improvement in school without discounting art and entertainment through workshops and festivals. In such programs Kadir Has University and the Fatih municipality have directly interacted.

1. 'Creative Handcraft" with Moos Pozzo: Probably the best part of the project is to see from day to day how the skills, imagination and knowledge of the children develop. However, when you grade kids and tell them every time not to do things, someone like Moos Pozzo needs to come all the way from Holland to awaken the 'substance' in the children. Pozzo volunteers at Mavi Kalem to help the kids, who once "voluntarily" guided her around Fener. In 'the create handcraft' with kids, they use a variety of materials doing a variety of work from paintings to collage. They have made Indonesian boxes, Iznik earthenware decorated with opaque colored glazes and the motifs that are characteristic of Turkish art, and 'African Villages' with houses made of rush. The aim of the project is to increase their creativity and knowledge of different cultures.

2. "The World through the Eyes of Children" Photography Project. 30 children from Fener-Balat, with the help of trained volunteers, were given the opportunity to photograph their homes, streets, friends, schools and teachers from their own unique perspective. Selected pictures were exhibited at the end of the project.

3. FENER-BALAT CHILDREN'S EDUCATION INITIATIVE Students receive supplemental Turkish, Math, Art, and English instruction from volunteer teachers on the weekends. English learning students started a mail correspondence with children from Oregon in America; as they were improving their English, they were learning about different cultures. The goal was to improve their success in school as well as their inter-personal skills, and to use interactive methods supported by educational CDs.

4. Study Rooms Project This project was undertaken to encourage reading and grant children access to educational books. It generated a lending library of 500 books as well as study rooms where children can meet with volunteers. Additionally, movies are shown twice monthly.