Türkiye Himâye-i Etfâl Cemiyeti Çorum Şubesi (1924-1930)

Throughout history, children have been in need of protection. Likewise, there have also been people and institutions alike who have offered them help, be it out of religious, humanitarian, or legal conviction. Turks used to pay great significance to their children and they provided necessary education to prepare them fully for their lives beginning from their early childhood. Thus, many Turkish institution have devoted themselves to protecting children. The most well-known of these is the Himaye-i Etfal Society. Its roots date back to the Ottoman Empire and the early Turkish Republic, and it has branches both within Turkey and abroad. It officially opened its doors on June 30, 1921. In parallel, a branch of the society also opened the province of Çorum at around the same time. The administrative committee of the Çorum branch, which was established in 1924, consisted mostly of local administrators and civil servants and a small number of local people. All of its activities ensure that poor and destitute children – especially those of martyrs and veterans – get the chance to live in better conditions, especially where education, health, and standard of living are concerned. The Çorum branch draws attention with its health activities through the dressing of the school students in the city and the free practice it opened. In the early years of the Republic, Dr. Hamit Sakir, the head of the Corum Branch of The Orphanage Society of Turkey (Türkiye Himâye-i Etfal Cemiyeti) who held the presidency for a long time and carried out activities for children in need which were reflected in the newspapers of the period. With this article, the establishment and activities of the branch of the society in Çorum are revealed in the light of archival documents and periodicals.