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 [...]
Leila*, 23, a Yezidi woman originally from Shingal (Sinjar), currently lives with her family in Chamishko IDP Camp in Duhok governorate after they had to flee their home. When Leila was 12 years, her cousin, who was her best friend and like a sister to her, suddenly passed away. Leila was deeply shocked and upset [...]
A mother brought her son Ary*, three years old, to SEED’s facilities in a local public health clinic in Erbil, seeking help for her son’s aggressive behavior and describing it as abnormal for his age; he was needy, aggressive, always crying, and hurting others around him with knives. Ary had a lack of focus and [...]
As a Yezidi community activist, Faisal* was constantly exposed to stories including the genocide, rape, killing, and torture of his people comitted by ISIS leaving Faisal experiencing symptoms of emotional trauma. However, with psychological support facilitated by SEED for him and his family, he has improved his mental health significantly and enabled him to return [...]
Women and girls, in particular, in Kurdistan and Iraq often face forms of abuse in the home, including but not limited to physical and emotional harm. Lacking sufficient local psychosocial systems, survivors have few options. In one recent example, SEED’s partner organization in Sulaimani, Wchan, provided mental health services in order to help Helin* improve [...]
Vikram* left India with the promise of a good job in Kurdistan so that he could support his family; he had worked abroad before and was eager to apply his skills as an engineer in this new context. He worked six days per week for 12 hours a day - it was hard work, but [...]
Leena* is a 20-year-old woman from the south of Iraq. Sadly, she lost her mother at a young age and her father died in a bombing when she was a child. Having lost both parents at such an early age, she was forced to live with her relatives. The next nine years of her life, [...]