On February 15th, the Raindrop Foundation organized its 8th Annual Turkish Culture and Language Olympiads. The event was held at the Hobby Center in Houston Texas, and was viewed by over three thousand people, ranging from parents to students to teachers. Participants dawned from the Southwestern States of America, namely Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas and Kansas. The gala festivities were capped with a wide range of live performances in Turkish, French, English and Spanish languages. TV’s ABC 13 Vice President of Community Affairs, Cynthia Cisneros, hosted the event. The Mayor of Houston, Annise Parker, was also in attendance.
The Turkish Culture and Language Olympiad aims at complementing the already rich cultural diversity of the United States while also cultivating a theme of respect and understanding among different cultures. In this diverse setting, college and secondary school students come together to compete in various disciplines, including poetry, song, language and folklore and art. The olympiads were originally established to promote the Turkish language, but through the years it has branched out to provide a more inclusive role for other diaspora and minority communities in the region
The Raindrop Foundation has addressed social and cultural needs for Turkish Americans while fostering multiculturalism within the 8 states (Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, New Mexico, Tennessee and Louisiana) it represents since its inception in 2000. Through dialogue, the foundation serves as a vessel to allow ethnic minorities to integrate well in their community. As part of its activities, it organizes the Turkic Cultures and Children’s Festival to showcase the heritage of Central Asian nations through calligraphy, folk dances, turkish cuisines and hand crafts.
The event concluded with all students singing in unison a song titled, ’The New World.’ Mrs. Cynthia Cisneros, Vice President of KTRK / ABC 13, received the Turquoise Media award for her efforts in contributing to the Turkish culture. Mr. Kamran S. Aghaie, the Director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, was also honored for his academic contributions to the same cause.
The Raindrop Foundation’s mission is to provide the community with educational, charitable, social and cultural programs and events. For instance, one of its initiatives, ‘Helping Hands,’ was established to assist in aid and development programs and services for the homeless, orphans, veterans and the needy.
