Every Saturday, Vildan teaches two very different students — one just beginning life at five years old, and the other, Dilek, already carrying the weight of real-world disappointments at 28. Dilek is Turkish-Bulgarian and now living in the Netherlands. She studied Physics at university, chasing a future built on knowledge, curiosity, and hard work… but sometimes life doesn’t follow the plan we write for it.
Unable to find work in her field in either Turkey or the Netherlands, she now works in a chicken factory, switching between exhausting night shifts and long day shifts. It’s not the life she imagined for herself, and she openly says she hates the job — but what stands out is her determination. She truly believes that improving her English will open doors, and she’s holding onto that hope tightly.
She dreams of staying in the Netherlands long-term, grateful that through her Bulgarian father she has EU citizenship and the chance to build a life there. Her lessons are meant to be 30–45 minutes, but without even noticing, conversations stretch, stories get shared, and suddenly 1.5 hours has passed — proof that sometimes what people need most is simply to be heard.
Life in the Netherlands is expensive, but she’s not alone. She shares costs with her brother and two close friends, all working the same tough factory job, supporting each other while quietly hoping for something better.
Some dreams pause. Some paths detour. But hope — if you protect it — keeps moving forward.
Dilek celebrating her 28th Birthday in January