Our Story

Raindrop Foundation Oklahoma—also known as Raindrop Turkish House and Dialogue Institute of Oklahoma—is a nonprofit organization founded by Turkish-Americans in the early 2000s in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. We are dedicated to fostering intercultural dialogue, building bridges across communities, and promoting mutual understanding through educational, cultural, and service-based programs.

Rooted in the universal values of respect, compassion, and service, and inspired by the Hizmet Movement, we provide platforms where people from all backgrounds can come together to engage, learn, and grow. By encouraging inclusive dialogue, celebrating diversity, and nurturing civic responsibility, we strive to build a more cohesive and peaceful society for all.

Our Core Values

  • Hizmet participants believe that every human being has inherent value and everyone should be treated with dignity. Every person is equal as a human being and before the law, and no one person is superior to anyone else. Hizmet participants uphold all human rights and freedoms expressed in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Social justice and equal opportunity are requirements for equality among people.

  • Hizmet participants respect the rule of law. They do not see anyone as above the law, and they act within the framework of protection of human dignity, universal legal principles, and the laws of their country of residence. They manage their organizations in a way to meet or exceed the transparency and accountability norms of their society.

  • Hizmet is a peaceful movement. Hizmet participants reject using violence as a political tool. Hizmet participants prefer positive and constructive actions and reject hostility-driven and destructive actions.

  • Hizmet participants are committed to the ideal that women are provided with equal opportunity and can contribute to all aspects of society without discrimination, and they strive to meet this ideal in all activities.

  • Hizmet participants pay attention to both ethical norms and moral principles in their activities. They abide by fundamental ethical principles including honesty, trustworthiness, harmlessness, and fairness. They believe that legitimate and rightful goals should be obtained through legitimate and rightful means.

  • For Hizmet volunteers, joining activities or leaving them is a person’s individual choice. Hizmet participants contribute to projects that bring to life their values and benefit humanity either through donations or volunteer work.

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  • Hizmet participants see collective and individual diversity as richness as long as they do not contradict fundamental human rights. They adopt an attitude necessary to avoid conflicts that stem from differences in sacred beliefs.

  • Hizmet participants benefit from shared wisdom through discussions of different perspectives and opinions.

  • Hizmet is a civil society movement and acts independently. It is not an extension of a state or a political entity. Hizmet volunteers emphasize the internalization of democratic values, active citizenship and community participation, and they respect every individual’s political choices. They stand against turning religion into a political ideology or making religion a tool of politics.

  • Hizmet participants consider it a social responsibility to contribute to society and to help solve societal problems. They see themselves as part of the human family. They are sensitive toward humanity’s problems and aim to serve humanity.

  • Hizmet participants view the earth, including its ecosystems, as a trust that must be preserved for future generations, and they contribute to protecting the environment.

  • Human beings are both material and spiritual beings. Spiritual disciplines should be pursued along with reason and scientific research so that their material and spiritual needs are met, and they can flourish in both dimensions.