‘I have possibilities now,’ says Mohamad after 16 years of not knowing his birth name or true age “I want to exist on paper to follow my dreams,” Mohamad,* a 16-year-old who was abandoned by his biological parents, told his SEED Foundation lawyer, who has been supporting Mohamad’s legal efforts to obtain his [...]

Access to Client-Centered Services Critical to Supporting Survivors of Trafficking Tara*, 52, came to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) from South Asia in 2018, having been recruited for a well-paid domestic worker position. Upon arrival, her employment agency failed to obtain her residency (iqama), instead moving her to several locations in the KRI and [...]

Legal Services Play Critical Role in SEED’s Support for Trafficking Survivors Navigating the legal system is often a complicated and lengthy process for victims, or survivors, of human trafficking. It is common in Kurdistan for them to face criminal charges instead of being recognized as survivors, leading to further exploitation or abuse. [...]

For families with children who have special needs, it can be challenging for both the family and the children to receive the support and resources they need in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In the last two years, SEED has worked with two families from the host community who have children that are diagnosed with [...]

SEED supports clients from diverse backgrounds and is dedicated to taking a client-centered approach, ensuring each individual’s needs are met. Maureen, a 38-year-old woman from Tanzania, was placed in a household in Sulaimani, Kurdistan, as a domestic worker. After nearly a year, Maureen was forced to work longer hours than agreed upon, denied freedom of [...]

Nagham*, a 21 year old Yezidi girl, currently lives in an IDP camp after ISIS invaded her home town of Shingal (Sinjar), where she grew up with her family. After the ISIS invasion, life became extremely unsafe and Nagham and her family were forced to flee to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Although they [...]

Shelter-in-place orders, restricted movements and government closures, necessary measures to slow the spread of the COVID-19 in Kurdistan, have resulted in a financial crisis leaving many migrant workers unemployed, and with compromised legal status as work permits expired. International travel bans meant those undertaking domestic work were unable to return to their home countries, and [...]

SEED continuously strives to strengthen its services to meet the needs of the communities it serves. One of the gaps that was identified was the need for a specialized group response to benefit from support of peers with similar challenges. This need could be addressed by launching an adapted version of group therapy for camp [...]

Jasmine*,26, like many migrant workers who become victims of trafficking, believed she was coming to Kurdistan via an employment agency to work and provide a better life for her family in Sierra Leone. Little did Jasmine know, she would set legal precedent by becoming the first mother to obtain a birth certificate for her child [...]

“There’s nothing to do after school, and we want more activities to do. Especially soccer,” explained a teenage boy.  It was a cloudless Monday in chilly February with the sunshine filtering into a room accompanied by sounds of children playing outside. Six teenage boys sat in a neat circle on beige plastic chairs, some leaning [...]