Back to school in Iraq

Although the war ended years ago, the crisis and emergency situation in Iraq persists and the population is in an extremely vulnerable situation. In this delicate context, investing in education is essential to give them hope and guarantee them a future. However, even today, a large part of the refugee, repatriated and displaced population has no access to quality educational services.

Amira is a 6-year-old Iraqi girl who lives with her mother in the camp for displaced people in the town of Shirqat, located in the north of Iraq. Despite all the difficulties, Amira is an extremely cheerful child and she always has a smile on her face. However, in the past she had to drop out of school for some time because, like many of her peers, she didn’t have proper ID.

Thanks to our intervention, this year Amira was reintegrated into the school and, despite the inevitable initial difficulties, she has worked hard and managed to pass all the exams successfully. This had a huge impact on her spirits and allowed her to finish an entire academic year.

There are many refugees, repatriated and displaced children who, like Amira, don’t have access to the school system. This has deep consequences that, in addition to the loss of fundamental years of education, involves the reduction of opportunities for socialization that especially for young people are necessary. COOPI is committed to ensuring them the access to inclusive and quality educational services.

Although the war has been over for years, the situation of crisis and emergency in Iraq has not ended and millions of people still need assistance. The traces of the conflict are unforgettable in the memory and in the life of the population.

In this complex situation, people try to carry on their daily lives and education plays a vital role. Ensuring safe access to high-quality education services for displaced, refugee and highly vulnerable population in Iraq is essential to give them a future. In addition, it’s crucial offers them protection services that can reduce the risk of exclusion and isolation.

The project continues to ensure access to education for children, focusing on increasing the quality of teaching by providing continuing training for teachers. In the intervention area, the village of Aolo Azim, the actions carry on and many children have the possibility to continue their studies. In particular, the supply of tools and teaching materials, such as desk, backpacks and notebooks, offer them a fundamental support.

Investing in education in the emergency context is fundamental for the psychophysical state of the children involved and, in general, for the entire country. Their participation in school programs permits to take children off the streets and allow them to look to their future with hope.

For a long time, IRAQ has been the scene of a conflict that has brought the country to its knees. One of the consequences of the war was that the country's young population had few opportunities to re-enter education. These opportunities have been further reduced with the COVID-19 pandemic.

COOPI has taken on this need and operates in IRAQ in the field of Education and Emergency. The front line of action is aimed at children and young people to facilitate the return to regular education and training. It is not an easy path, but COOPI has taken up the challenge and is supporting the schooling and educational recovery of these children: investing in schools means guaranteeing a future for children who would otherwise be more exposed to the risk of child labour and micro-criminality.

The intervention concerns infrastructural activities for the construction and rehabilitation of school facilities so that safe, inclusive and quality learning places are guaranteed for boys and girls. The distribution of school materials and kits for each child is also planned.

Ongoing training is provided to teachers, who are called upon to deal with children who are victims of trauma caused by the humanitarian crisis so that they are competent and aware in handling the difficult and traumatic experiences of the children they meet.

The activities in which COOPI has invested are not limited to the purely school setting, but a great deal of work is also being done on non-formal education activities for out-of-school children as well as support to Parent-Teacher associations.

The inclusion of parents in their children's school life is important for the work of educating children to succeed: COOPI has decided to act in order to make the parents aware of the importance of their support for their children's education. Training courses are organised to promote participatory and positive parenting. 

Supporting COOPI means supporting a project that carries with the need to start over and look to the future. Investing in education allows a country like Iraq, devastated by war, to be able to think with hope about the days to come by creating concrete opportunities for today's young generations.

In Iraq COOPI continues its work in contexts of humanitarian emergency. Many of the activities that are carried out by COOPI in the area have the goal of providing protection and promoting education for children.

Guaranteeing that children and young students have access to schools’ facilities is COOPI’s priority.

COOPI intervenes by constructing new school infrastructures and by rehabilitating existing ones, this form of intervention guarantees that children have the possibility of studying in buildings that are safe and not at risk.

COOPI also continues to implement activities that have the goal of reintegrating into the educational system children that have dropped out, students have the opportunity of attending after school programs and they are supported by trained teachers.

During lessons children have the chance of studying in a safe and stimulating environment equipped with school supplies that are provided by COOPI.

All these activities have the objective of guaranteeing a better future for children in Iraq.

Help us promoting education. With your support, we can make it happen!

Since 2014 COOPI works in Iraq and confirms its commitment to support local people and ensure that students have access to educational opportunities.

In the district of Al-Shirqat, COOPI is carrying out activities to train teachers using innovative and alternative approaches.

For example, the goal of the training program called “Teachers in Crisis Context (TiCC)” is to enable teachers to develop skills necessary when carrying out educational activities during crisis. The training involves also suggestions on how to manage teaching during health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, teachers have been trained to identify children with possible learning difficulties and to consequently adapt their learning techniques according to their specific needs. To carry out these training activities on the field COOPI works in collaboration with a local partner, the Sorouh for Sustainable Development Foundation (SSDF), which has been active in Iraq for many years.

Hassan, one of the teachers that has taken part in the training program, told us: “It is great to feel like our struggles and needs as teachers are heard and acknowledged. It is really important for our professional development to receive the proper training and support. There are times in which our job requires a lot of strength and dedication. We have many students that need support in their educational path.”

COOPI and the local partners have also implemented on the job evaluations to monitor the results of the training programs and to make sure that they are effective. The professional development of teachers is key to guarantee quality educational opportunities for children in Iraq.

Please, join COOPI’s mission and help Iraqi students with us!

Thank you for your support!