Both a student, a mother, and a disaster victim.

Sultan Hilal Şahin, a survivor of the earthquake living in the Nurdağı district of Gaziantep, will be able to earn an income and complete her education to achieve the profession she dreams of with the helping hand extended by Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin.

As a woman entrepreneur, disaster survivor, student, and a mother, Sultan Hilal Şahin continues to heal her wounds in Nurdağı, where she was affected by the earthquakes on February 6, just like her neighbors and the local community. Sultan, who started her journey with a love for nature and a desire to specialize in this field, received support from Mayor Fatma Şahin.

As one of the young female entrepreneurs in the region, Sultan benefited from a project providing strawberry seedlings, fertilizers, medicines, and mulch, along with a drip irrigation system, distributed to 200 farmers in Nurdağı and İslahiye in collaboration with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality and the GAP Regional Development Administration.

“I was excited when I heard about the project”

Sultan Hilal Şahin, who lives in Nurdağı, mentioned that she has a son named Abdullah and stated that she is studying furniture and decoration at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University. Noting that her family has been engaged in farming since 1970, Hilal Şahin said, “With their support, I also became interested in farming. I have a friend who works in strawberry production, and I was happy to see his successes. In this sense, I was excited when I learned about the new support project for strawberry production in collaboration with the Agricultural Services Department of the Metropolitan Municipality and the GAP Regional Development Administration.”

“Sometimes opportunities do not allow you to do something, to succeed”

Recalling that she learned about the support project from a farmer brother, Şahin said, “I applied for the project, and I was very happy when I received a response. This support from the Metropolitan Municipality actually means a lot. Sometimes opportunities do not allow you to do something, to succeed. Ideas cannot always be put into action. I am very happy to have received this support, and I thank the Metropolitan Municipality very much.”

“I want to become a tree doctor”

Şahin stated that she will continue her education and plans to spread the specialization process over four years, saying, “I aim to complete my education in forestry engineering. I love nature a lot and I want to become a ‘tree doctor.’ I want to earn my living by producing strawberries while also advancing my career through education.”

Expressing her goal to have knowledge about every fruit and every tree, Şahin said, “It is very important that Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin supports many young female entrepreneurs like me. Therefore, I thank her very much.”