It has been well documented that COVID-19 measures of social isolation and movement restrictions can impact and exacerbate pre-existing symptoms, especially for those with mental health needs or at risk of gender based violence (GBV). Preventative health measures limit access to in-person support and coping activities that our clients often rely on to deal with [...]
The subject of mental health, stress, and wellbeing are often regarded as taboo in Kurdish culture. With the COVID-19 restriction measures, periods of lockdown that Kurdistan has endured since March, and increased economic hardship, it has become increasingly important to take care of our mental health. In addition to adapting to remote, by phone or [...]
As COVID19 measures came into force in early March 2020, SEED Foundation staff provided much-needed gloves and masks and other supplies to police officers at Erbil’s Directorate of Human Trafficking Trafficking in Persons (TIP) police unit in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region - as the KRG’s key law enforcement unit and only designated body in Iraq [...]
Source: Rudaw English / Author: Dlnia Rahman / Date: July 31, 2020 ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Samira Saeed, 30, is one of dozens of workers who came to the Kurdistan Region for work, but instead fell victim to human trafficking. Shortly after getting married in her home country of Ghana, she came to Erbil [...]
Dr. Mirza Dinnayi was awarded the Aurora Prize in October for his work as a Yezidi activist and for rescuing more than 1,5000 victims of terrors and rehabilitating hundreds of women and girls used by ISIS as sex slaves. He spoke with SEED to explain why he chose us as one of the three organizations [...]
Source: Amnesty International / Date: July 2020 Amnesty International has released a report on the plight of child survivors of ISIS in Iraq, which documents the psychological, physical, and other forms of trauma that the children are suffering from even today, as well as the work of SEED Foundation and other organizations working to help [...]
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 [...]
Stress Workshop at University Underscores Need for Support for Youth January 13, 2020 SEED Foundation visited students at the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr (UKH) to discuss the importance of stress management, especially during exam periods. The two hour workshop was given by SEED’s Mental Health Technical Advisor, Anne Lepelaars, a trained psychologist from the Netherlands, [...]