Gender Equality Iraq Project #21522

Yezidi Women's Services

by Free Yezidi Foundation

Project Report | Dec 1, 2020
Newsletter - November 2020 - Friends

By Pari Ibrahim | Executive Director

FYF Monthly Newsletter - November 2020

FYF hand-knitted items, fall / winter 2020Dear friends,

This month our staff members and beneficiaries have been preparing for another winter ahead in the IDP camps. As last year's winter was very cold, our women's center beneficiaries have been making winter products for their family members or for sale in the community. We are anticipating the opening of a formal storefront in the coming months, where FYF will sell hand-crafted items by Yezidi women. Stay tuned for more developments in 2021!

FYF has also been producing thousands of masks and PPE for free distribution in the camps to combat COVID-19. Through a generous grant, FYF has been able to employ local Yezidi women to produce and distribute masks in the IDP camps. We remain extremely concerned by the prospect of COVID-19 spread through the camps and in Sinjar. In both locations, health provisions are low and the risk of spread and danger to vulnerable individuals is very high. We call on all organizations and leaders within the Yezidi community to emphasize the importance of adhering to WHO safety and health guidelines.

Toward the end of November, FYF participated in marking the global effort to highlight the importance of combating gender-based violence, sexual violence, and promotion of women's rights and women's equality. Organizations all over the world are taking 16 days of to highlight activism in this important field, which is also part of all FYF projects. As a women-led organization working with countless survivors of sexual violence and gender-based violence, we call for protection of women in every community in the world, including our own.

FYF Harikara discuss justice and women's rights in an IDP camp

The Free Yezidi Foundation also participated in two discussions hosted by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum this month, highlighting the situation facing Yezidis six years on from the ISIS genocide. FYF's Executive Director and Justice Project Manager participated in the two events.

This month, Samantha Elhassani was sentenced to more than six years in Indiana, United States, for her role in providing material support to a terror organization. The full US Department of Justice press release can be found here.

The Free Yezidi Foundation has been advocating for appropriate criminal charges for all members of ISIS, male or female, in all relevant jurisdictions in response to the genocide perpetrated against Yezidis. The role that all forms of financial, material, and human resource support that were extended to ISIS to help it achieve its ghastly aims - especially the sale, purchase, and rape of Yezidi 'slaves' in the ISIS caliphate - should be prosecuted.

In the News

Al-Monitor | Indiana Woman Gets 6 Years in Prison after Smuggling Cash for the Islamic State | This article quotes FYF comments on the Elhassani case.

Kurdistan-24 | Yezidis Suspicious over Syrian Opposition Leader Visit to Town in Afrin | This article includes comments from FYF on the situation of Yezidis in Afrin.

El Periodico | la Lucha del pueblo Yazidi seis anos despues del genocidio | This article (in Spanish) includes excerpts of an interview with the FYF Executive Director on post-genocide recovery.

Kurdistan-24 | Yezidis Official in KRG Responsible for rescuing Yezidi Awarded with Sergio Vieira De Mello Prize | This article includes the FYF position on continued efforts to rescue kidnapped Yezidis.

Finally, as we enter the Giving season, we again ask you to consider supporting the Free Yezidi Foundation.

Please donate to one of the FYF projects on GlobalGiving. To donate on GlobalGiving click here.

Thank you, friends, for your continued solidarity with the Free Yezidi Foundation and the Yezidi people.

Sincerely,

Pari Ibrahim
Executive Director
Free Yezidi Foundation

Permalink

Nov 30, 2020
Support FYF Tomorrow on Giving Tuesday

By Pari Ibrahim | Executive Director

You Can Make a Difference!

Support FYF Tomorrow on Giving Tuesday

FYF beneficiary, Kafia, 2019

Dear friends,

This holiday season, we are highlighting stories of Yezidi staff members and beneficiaries. Here is a reflection from FYF Women's Center beneficiary, Kafia, in 2019:

"When I was younger, in Sinjar, I asked my family why I was not sent to school like all the other girls. My family tried to register me in school, but the school didn’t accept me because I have a disability with my legs. In the IDP camp, I heard about the Free Yezidi Foundation registering women to participate in their projects. They told me they even have bus drivers to pick up women who live far away or are unable to reach the center by themselves. I was not sure if they would accept me because I am not like others, because of my disability. It was the first time I was ever accepted to enroll in classes. I was so happy. I was amazed that people like me could get a chance to get an education. I love learning, especially English and Arabic. I learned so much about women’s rights, and I felt more empowered than ever before. I never expected to be enrolled and equally accepted like everyone else. I will keep trying hard to learn and achieve something, so I can become more independent. I don’t like to be the 'disabled woman' that is a burden on her family or other people."

Kafia has been an IDP since August 2014, like many others from Sinjar. Life is generally very difficult for IDPs, but those with disabilities can face considerably more hardship.

FYF beneficiary, Kafia, prepares for her future role as a paid FYF Children's Center helper

The Free Yezidi Foundation offers courses at our women’s center regardless of beneficiaries’ prior educational experience or capabilities. Two core values at the FYF Women’s Center are inclusion and resilience. No one has taken those values to heart more than Kafia. In 2019 Kafia registered to take classes at the center for the first time, where she blossomed into a star student. Now, she is preparing to work as a helper in the FYF Children’s Center.

“As a girl I never had dreams for my future. Today I am excited by my future and I have the right to get an education just like the other women. I can do something with my life. I have new dreams, especially to work with children and earn an income for my family.”

Kafia told us that FYF embracing her as a person, rather than focusing on her disability, has given her a newfound confidence that has inspired her. Kafia wants the world to know that people with disabilities, if given a chance, can do great things. “We can support our family and have something to offer the community. We can contribute."

On Giving Tuesday we ask you, our friends and donors, to consider supporting the Free Yezidi Foundation. Our provision of care, education, treatment, and services for vulnerable and disenfranchised members of the Yezidi community is possible because of people like you.

*This story and associated photos have been published with permission and informed consent from Kafia and her legal guardian*

Please donate to one of the FYF projects on GlobalGiving. To donate on GlobalGiving click here.

Thank you, friends, for your continued solidarity with the Free Yezidi Foundation and the Yezidi people.

Sincerely,

Pari Ibrahim
Executive Director
Free Yezidi Foundation

Permalink

Nov 24, 2020
You Can Make a Difference, on Giving Tuesday!

By Pari Ibrahim | Executive Director

You Can Make a Difference! Support FYF on Giving Tuesday!

FYF staff and children celebrate FYF graduation (pre-COVID)

Dear friends,

This holiday season, we will be highlighting some of the stories of Yezidi staff members and beneficiaries. Here are some thoughts from Children's Center beneficiaries:

"I liked all the classes. It was much better than school! I learned many new things: many new English words and how to use a computer. At the school we did not take computer classes like we did at FYF. My favorite game here was football. I made a lot of new friends and my old friends also attended the FYF Children’s Center. My dream for the future is to become a mathematics teacher." - 'A', age 13, more than six years living in an IDP camp (not pictured).

Like other children, 'A' has had to adjust his life considerably in the aftermath of the genocide perpetrated by ISIS against the Yezidi population. He is from Khanasor, Sinjar.

Yezidi children in an IDP camp (pre-COVID)

"I was coming to the Children’s Center with my mother when she was attending sewing and knitting classes...I like coming to the Children’s Center very much, I like the teachers and the way that they teach us. We were taking English, computer, painting, and games classes. I learned a lot from all of them. My favorite game was tennis. I do not remember much about Sinjar because I was very young. I heard that Sinjar now is not like before, it is not safe and there are no services there, like water and electricity. I do not want to go back to Sinjar. In Sinjar there are no courses for children like here, and also, here I can come to FYF and I have a lot of friends in the camp. When I grow up, I want to work as an English teacher because I like English very much. It is the most important language in the whole world and it will allow me to be able to work with organizations like FYF." 'K', 11 years old, from Tel Azar, Sinjar, currently living for six years in an IDP camp (not pictured).

This holiday season, we ask you, our friends and donors, to consider supporting the Free Yezidi Foundation. Our provision of care, education, treatment, and services for vulnerable and disenfranchised members of the Yezidi community is possible because of people like you. Please donate to one of the FYF projects on GlobalGiving. To donate on GlobalGiving click here.

Thank you, friends, for your continued solidarity with the Free Yezidi Foundation and the Yezidi people.

Sincerely,

Pari Ibrahim
Executive Director
Free Yezidi Foundation

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ... 28 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.