Ameera is from Fallujah in western Iraq. ISIL attacks forced Ameera and her family to leave their home. As a single mother of three living in displacement, she faced compounded obstacles.
The Community Caregiver team, an initiative of the Victim Support and Reconciliation (VSR) program in Iraq, found Ameera in a very critical psychosocial state and chose her as a beneficiary to receive psychological support. The team conducted three visits and provided her with healing sessions through counseling, individual therapy, and group therapy. As a result, they noticed improvements in Ameera’s behavior. One of the caregivers said,
“At the beginning, when we first met with Ameera, she didn’t speak at all. Signs of depression, grief, and hopelessness were evident in her facial expressions, but this improved gradually. On the third day of therapy, we noticed positive changes in her behavior, and she started to communicate more with her neighbors, some of whom were also displaced people and others who were host community residents.”
Despite the positive changes in Ameera’s behavior, she needed further support for full recovery, so Blumont selected her to participate in the Hand Craft Healing Project in Khabat district. The healing project included eighteen female conflict victims, who participated in a five-day handcraft and sewing course. After learning different skills from a specialist in the field, the beneficiaries received sewing machines as a gift. The aim of the gift was to encourage the beneficiaries to practice their hobbies instead of focusing on their suffering. Ameera was very pleased with the sewing machine. A caregiver follow-up indicated that as soon as she received the machine Ameera started to practice and improve her sewing skills by stitching her family members’ clothes. As a result, with the assistance of VSR CCGs in Khabat, she was able to find employment.
Ameera at the handcraft healing project.
Ameera registered in a project called Awareness Creation and Mothers’ Empowerment to help improve children’s well-being, implemented by Zhin, an NGO that is a local partner of UNICEF. The project goal is to sew 84,000 school uniforms for 28,000 students living in displacement in northern Iraq, and Ameera is one of the tailors hired for the project. Ameera, who has secured an income and helps support her family, said,
“I am stronger and happier now. I was depressed and always thought about my miserable life, but my outlook changed as soon as I met the caregiver team. I can depend on myself, help my children, be social and communicate, and make friends not only with displaced people, but with the host community in Khabat as well. What made me even happier and more hopeful was the sewing machine I received because not only was I able to practice my hobby, but I used my skill as a source of income to support my family. This is all because of the support I received from Blumont as they gave me hope and power to stand again on my feet.”
Ameera sewing school uniforms at work.
Ameera continues to improve day-by-day while supporting her children with her tailoring skills. She walks around all day looking for customers, but is not bothered by the task. She is happy and enjoys her time as she hones her tailoring skills.
Ameera (second from the right) during a group therapy session.
VSR is funded by the US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
