ASET: a new project funded by PRM to support the socio-economic stability of the local community, returnees and IDPs in Iraq

On October 3rd, 5th and 6th, in Kibera, inside a vast slum in the heart of Nairobi where almost one million people live, something unthinkable will happen: 150 students from four schools—Little Prince, Cardinal Otunga, Ushirika and Urafiki—will stage an adaptation of The Divine Comedy, by Italian author Dante Alighieri, directed by Marco Martinelli with Assistant Director Laura Radaelli. Through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, children will cross a path that will conclude with a parade through the heart of the slum.

jolar jarjess, helping farmers during covid-19 in iraq

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, amid many doubts and questions, Jolar Jarjess was certain that being close to people affected by crises is a fundamental principle for effective humanitarian action.
“Our role during a crisis like COVID-19 is not to avoid danger, but to manage it in a way that allows us to assist the affected communities,” says Jolar.

“I LOVE THIS LAND SO MUCH, HOW COULD I NOT?”​

Coming straight from the airport after a long trip from Australia, Youssef Zora Al-Sakaria, couldn’t believe his eyes: his family farm, destroyed by Islamic State when they occupied Qaraqosh, Iraq, in 2014, had been completely renovated. He was so excited that for two days he refused to go home and slept among the 6,000 chicks that his son Atheer Youssef Zora had recently received thanks to the project “A virtuous production cycle to relaunch a city and its economic fabric for IDPs and returnees to the Nineveh Plains.” Implemented by AVSI Foundation in Iraq, the project is funded by the U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).

NEW GARDEN BRINGS BACK A SENSE OF NORMALITY

When the Islamic State seized Qaraqosh in 2014, hundreds of Iraqi Christians were forced to flee. Their houses, churches, schools, and businesses were destroyed. Not even public parks and children’s playgrounds were spared. Now, as the local population returns home, debris and rubbles have slowly been replaced by trees, flowers and colorful playgrounds in some areas, like the Municipality of Al-Hamdaniya, where AVSI and local authorities inaugurated on November 18 the Al-Narjes Garden. The reconstruction of the community public space was made possible thanks to the project “A virtuous production cycle to relaunch a city and its economic fabric for IDPs and returnees to the Nineveh Plains, Iraq”, funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

Back to Ninevah Plain: a new project funded by PRM to support the local community and people who decided to return and start again

On September 1, 2018, AVSI Foundation launched a new project in Qaraqosh, Ninevah Plain of Iraq, “A virtuous production cycle to relaunch a city and its economic fabric for IDPs and returnees to the Ninevah Plain, Iraq”.

The project, funded by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), will last for two years and will reach more than 6,000 farmers and family members in Qaraqosh, Al-Hamdaniya district.