I arrived home from abroad late on Thursday night, 28 February. Wasting no time, I hopped the first plane to Antalya the next morning, getting just two hours of sleep due to the lengthy preparations. Due to my busy schedule, I couldn’t sleep on the plane either. That tiredness vanished when I saw the Adım Adım friends and TİDER volunteers and professionals at Antalya Airport. The adrenaline rush of happiness instantly sent my energy soaring.
As a Adım Adım classic, I boarded the minibus organized by Ali. We couldn’t have made it this far if we tried; on the minibus, I ran into TİDER professionals Bengü and Burak, as well as Adım Adım’s Itır, Gözde, and Kıvanç. While chatting with Gözde, she mentioned that they would be pushing Deniz, who has cerebral palsy, in his wheelchair on the 21 K course. Then, on the spur of the moment, she asked, “Would you like to join us, Serhan?”
A 21 K surprise! I told Gözde that I’d organized a 10 K run, but that I could push Deniz’s wheelchair with them for 21 K. Two things motivated me. First, I’d known Deniz from previous years. He’s a very sweet and intelligent kid. I liked the idea of making him happy and chatting with him. And of course, it was a great idea to have fun running with my friends from Adım Adım, whom I’ve known for years and love, respect, and value.
But still, I was cautious, and said, “Let’s see if I can change my route at the last minute.” The minibus that picked us up from the airport went directly to Terra City Shopping Mall, where we’d pick up our running kits.
We went up to the top floor, where we’d collected our running kits, and the organizing team greeted us in the usual lineup. I started talking to the officials about getting my own running kit. Interestingly, they couldn’t find my name on the register. So, I paid the fee and registered for the 21 K race all over again. Afterward, as I was heading to the designated spot in the courtyard to retrieve my running chip and bag, I saw Gözde again. Smiling, I blurted out, “They couldn’t find my registration. I signed up for the 21 K race. It was my destiny to run with you.” 🙂
My message to Adım Adım friends
Afterward, taking advantage of being in the shopping mall, I completed my running routine, boarded the waiting minibus, and headed back to the hotel.
The Akra Barut Hotel in Antalya evokes a sense of ‘coming home’ for those who regularly attend this event. The atmosphere created by Adım Adım, the encounter with so many acquaintances, and the welcoming hospitality of the hotel staff made us feel right at home. So, as soon as we entered the lobby, I felt my spirits soar. I was finally able to sleep soundly.
As soon as I entered the room, I unpacked my suitcase so I wouldn’t have to worry about it again. Afterward, I sent the message I had in mind to the Adım Adım group via the following email:
Dear Adım Adım Friends,
I shared two pieces of good news with you in my last email. Following this, as TİDER (Basic Needs Association), we organized the first-ever Food Banking Summit in Türkiye on 21 February. It was fantastic in every way! If you missed it, no problem; we’ll hold the second summit on 20 February 2020. We look forward to hearing from you. For more details, you can read the blog post I wrote after the event: https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/turkiyenin-ilk-gida-bankaciligi-zirvesi-ile-muhtesem-baslangic
I will also be giving two talks on ‘Zero Waste’ today at 4:00 PM and tomorrow at 2:30 PM in the Akasya Hall (M Floor) of the Akra Hotel. I’d like to share two images below as a teaser for this talk. The first is TİDER’s waste prevention vision, which we’ve been working to establish since 2014. The second is a photo from the drill we conducted in Bozcaada that, in my opinion, speaks volumes.
If the topic of “Zero Waste” interests you, we welcome you.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our NGO brothers and sisters a successful campaign season at Runatolia.
Stay well and stay well…
- Serhan Süzer
TİDER Founding President
Note: As TİDER, our ultimate goal is to create our “Ending Poverty by Preventing Waste” model through collaboration with the public, private sector, and NGOs. In this regard, we attach great importance to NGO solidarity.
Our “Zero Waste” Speech and Presentation
After sending this message, I went down to the lobby and went to one of the cafes and restaurants across the street for lunch with our Adım Adım friends. After dinner, I returned to the hotel to complete preparations for my speech at 4:00 PM. To give you an idea, I’d like to share a visual of Adım Adım’s Runatolia event below:
After completing the preparations with the support of TİDER professionals and volunteers, I delivered my hour-long speech. Frankly, despite my exhaustion and two hours of sleep, the speech exceeded my expectations. Entering that hall, the interaction is invigorating. I’d also like to share the visuals I used in my presentation with you.
The hour flew by so quickly, because I received so many questions. I especially enjoyed the conversational presentation, which included questions and comments from Deniz, whose wheelchair I’ll be pushing in two days, and Suzan Bayazıt, one of TOG’s founders and current co-chair of the board. After the conversational presentation, I quickly went back to my room. Then I joined Gözde’s yoga session, which was right after me on the program. Frankly, it wasn’t something I’d planned, but I kept my promise to attend, albeit late.
Afterwards, I went back to my room, took care of some work, took a shower, and then went to dinner with the Adım Adım friends at 7 Mehmet, a famous restaurant in Antalya.
A “sour” yoga experience 🙂
The next day, after a good and sound sleep, I woke up in high spirits. First thing I did was head down to the fitness center. I worked off the rust that had accumulated from not exercising for so long. After the workout, I showered and went down to breakfast. There, I ran into some of the Adım Adım friends. After breakfast together, I went to the TİDER booth in the ballroom. Just as I’d promised, I was able to join Gözde’s yoga session, albeit late. It was a funny situation. Because the room was packed, I was placed in the middle of four immature men who were much less flexible than I was and who groaned with every move. Furthermore, because the room was packed, some of them hissed, others had foot odor, and I had to deal with sweaty feet during the group session, which made the yoga session less than enjoyable for me. Still, I can say I enjoyed myself by laughing at my situation and chatting with some friends. Of course, realizing there were men who were much worse at yoga than I was encouraged to do so. My non-existent yoga career wasn’t off to a bad start, I said. Afterward, I quickly stopped by the TİDER booth in the ballroom again. After observing that everything was going well, I happily went to lunch with Hasan and Işık, two energy sector journalists. We went to a restaurant across from the hotel. After a pleasant conversation focused on the industry, I returned to the hotel. After final preparations, I gave my Zero Waste speech for the second time. This time, we had a large audience of TİDER volunteers. Of course, many esteemed guests in the hall also listened to my speech. After another interactive and engaging conversation, I shared my presentation.
Wonderful stories from friends
As I did the day before, after this speech, many people approached me, and I answered their personal questions. Then, I found myself at the Adım Adım cocktail reception, which started around 4:30 PM. After chatting with many friends there, I joined the program, which began at 5:00 PM.
During the approximately 1.5-hour program, led by Renay, Itır, Tanyar, and Kıvanç, we witnessed unforgettable moments. We listened to wonderful stories. After this hopeful evening, we retired to our rooms, showered, and finished our preparations. Then, we met with our volunteers around 7:30 PM. All 25 of us went fishing. While we were eating delicious fish and appetizers, a lively conversation was taking place at the table, and everyone was in high spirits. Around 11:00 PM, we left the table and returned to the hotel. We all went to the hotel jazz bar to have fun. Exhausted from the week, I left the group there that evening and went to my room to rest.
The next morning, around 6:45 AM, I went down to breakfast. As we had arranged the night before, our volunteers had taken the largest table there. After breakfast and saying goodbye to all our volunteers, we met up with Deniz and our friends from Adım Adım, the driving force, around 8:00 AM.
Here’s a photo Deniz and I took before boarding the minibus, which includes a message for our donors.
Let me list the members of the group: Kıvanç Ergun, Itır Erhart, Gamze Erdemir, Gözde Uysal, Celal Sümer, Savaş Arson, Nihat Diler. Then we all took a minibus to the site.
When I saw this sweet little Far Eastern boy before boarding the minibus, I couldn’t resist.
I went over to him and took this picture with his mother.
A career idea was born during the run.
After spending time with our TİDER volunteers and Adım Adım friends in the field, we started around 9:15.
Pre-run photo we took with TİDER professionals and volunteers. Everyone was in high spirits.
We started off in a spirited mood. This enthusiasm continued from beginning to end. There was constant, lively conversation within the group along the way. Everyone chatted cheerfully in groups of two, three, or five. The runners passing by were always cheering us on. During one part of the run, as I was pushing Deniz’s wheelchair, Deniz looked up and asked, “Serhan, what business are you in?” I answered directly, “solar energy.” Deniz’s eyes lit up. He asked me questions about solar energy. He was particularly curious about its applications, and at one point, the topic even turned to a solar panel-powered, battery-powered wheelchair. Then he told me about a special design created by a disabled citizen from Bursa. As I discussed this with Deniz, an idea immediately came to mind. I pictured Deniz as a scientist specializing in product development. After the run, we discussed this topic with him. Best of luck. Another interesting aspect was the encounter with ‘Transformers’ at one point along the track. Those who have seen ‘Transformers’ know that this iconic film series, which revolves around vehicles suddenly transforming into warrior robots and battling evil, was also quite well-executed. Of course, the fact that the Transformer wearing the animated suit, mask, and platform boots had a substantial beard sparked some “bearded transformer” jokes among us. After taking some photos here, we continued on our way.
Somewhere along the way, I found myself dancing the halay to a lively song. This joyful moment with the Adım Adım friends was captured on camera as follows:
Pacing with a professional runner
Afterward, while chatting with Itır, she asked me, “The marathon runners will be passing us soon. Would you like to pace them?” Just then, the African marathon runner in first place passed us. Just as I thought, “Oh no, we missed it,” the runner in second place arrived. I told Itır, “Let’s run,” and we started running past her. Itır stopped running after 15 seconds, and I continued running with the man. I had the opportunity to chat a bit while I ran with him for about two minutes. The professional runner, who was out of breath, regained his breathing thanks to the conversation, and I said, “I’m glad you came by; I’ve caught my breath.” After offering my best wishes, I wished him success, shook his hand, and started running back. My friends applauded me when I arrived. They couldn’t believe I had kept pace with a professional runner for two minutes. One of them said half-jokingly, “Wow, we didn’t realize what value we had!” Another asked, “Where does this explosive energy come from?” After this banter, we continued on our way, laughing. Of course, speaking for myself, what really surprised me was that I wasn’t out of breath after two minutes of running together. So, I could have run like that for another five minutes. Of course, considering I’ve never done any running training, I told myself, I’m not in bad shape for a 41-year-old.
One of the shots we took while running with Deniz, taking a breather.
A wonderful picture of animal love and human love, all in one.
Dogs constantly accompanied us during the run. We love them, and they love us. The love is mutual.
The finish of the run crowned the joyful moments we’d experienced throughout the run. Amidst a wonderful welcome, cheers, and confetti, we all held hands as we finished the run.
The photo we took with Adım Adım friends and TİDER volunteers after finishing the run:
One of the happiest moments at the finish line was the greeting from our TİDER volunteers. Some of them ran along at the end, while others cheered. I was able to give them all a high five.
After the run, we went to the pick-up point. We got in our minibus and returned to the hotel. We arranged to meet at the hotel at 2:00 PM for a swim. Just as Deniz was saying goodbye, she said, “Serhan, I have something to tell you.” Then she turned to her mother and added, “Can you turn on the camera? I want to say this on camera.” The following footage was recorded:
Afterwards, we said our goodbyes, went up to my room, changed into my swimsuit, and met up with our Adım Adım friends and headed down to the beach. We all went down to the freezing sea together, then toweled down to the meatball party. After that exhaustion and the swim, the meatball bread and ayran with soda were a wonderful treat. After this section, I said goodbye to the TİDER volunteers and our Adım Adım friends, went up to my room, took a quick shower, packed my suitcase, went downstairs, checked out of the hotel, and met in the lobby for the first of three meetings I’d previously organized. We then went to another cafe/restaurant across from the hotel.
Thoughts of a full-blown running adventure
I completed my meetings during the day and headed to the airport around 9 p.m. In the airport’s CIP area, I encountered our board chair Hande Tibuk and board member Yasemin Ahıskalı, whose flight had been delayed. After a brief chat with them, everyone departed for their respective flights.
As I boarded, the following thoughts ran through my mind, filled with the joy of having spent a wonderful weekend:
The Runatolia event in Antalya was fantastic for me in every way. I wish I could inform people twice about the important issue of “zero waste,” spend time with all the TİDER volunteers and Adım Adım friends, get to know a wonderful child like Deniz well and see her happy on the 21 K track, have TİDER’s participation in the organization and now be able to express herself more fully on the Adım Adım platform, exchange ideas with friends whose ideas and thoughts I trust, learn about my own running potential, have two nights of sound sleep, have my first swim of the season in Antalya, and finally, have our TİDER fundraising campaign gain momentum. What more could I ask for?
Before I forget, let me share the details of my Runatolia fundraising campaign:
Dear Friends, if you want to support TİDER’s model that prevents waste and alleviates poverty, please support my Runatolia fundraising campaign. To donate, please visit https://ipk.adimadim.org/kampanya/CC42959. International Working Women’s Day
Finally, I’d like to share another message on this occasion: I read on social media that everyone was making positive comments about International Working Women’s Day last Friday. As Eko Group and TİDER, we stand behind women’s participation in the workforce 365 days a year, not just in words but in deeds. Here’s an example. Here’s some news from EkoCCS, one of my initiatives:
Happy International Working Women’s Day once again!
Tags: social responsibility
