Shelters for Women in Iraq

Our partner, the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), recently welcomed nearly 50 new and 10 returning participants to their counseling and peer support sessions at one of their Women’s Centers. Many of these women are survivors of terrible violence, including captivity by ISIS.

For these sessions, OWFI tried something new - and it worked. Usually, the sessions are a combination of trauma healing and reintegration. But this time, they split the sessions, focusing on each element in turn. This helped the women first confront the crises they had endured and also realize that their past experiences didn’t have to dictate their present and futures.

These two distinct sessions helped women separate their past from their future. The trauma healing sessions give survivors the opportunity to share their stories of trauma in a group setting and get support from specialized counselors. And the reintegration sessions created a space to talk about their fears and anxieties about the outside world. At these sessions, women learned social skills that will help them reintegrate back into their communities.

Women who had removed themselves from society for years following their traumatic experiences as ISIS captives have reported that, after attending OWFI’s sessions, they feel like they belong again. This new approach has enabled these sessions to breathe new life and possibility into survivors.

We’re always inspired by our thoughtful partners who adapt to provide the most useful and caring support to survivors. Thank you for making this vital work possible!

With your help, our partners at the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) helped a woman named Aya,* and changed her life.

Aya, a widow and the head of her household, were terrorized living in ISIS-controlled territory. She faced unimaginable heartbreak, when her daughter and son were killed in ISIS attacks. She took her two sons and a granddaughter, and together they fled. They found a farm to work and live on. But conditions there were dismal, and they had little access to food and water. Things got even worse when she lost her job on the farm, and they ran out of places to go.

Our partners at OWFI are active in their local community and have a wide network of contacts. One local activist contact found out about Aya’s situation, reached out to OWFI, and asked them to help.

OWFI immediately mobilized to bring Aya and her family to a safe house, where they got the food and shelter they needed. OWFI provided the whole family with medical care.

OWFI also helps families obtain official identification documents, so they were able to get a birth certificate for Aya’s granddaughter. Now, she will have proof of her relationship to Aya and her nationality. A birth certificate will also enable her to go to school and get a job when she is older, see a doctor, and buy property.

Thanks to your support, Aya, her children and granddaughter are safe and receiving the care they need to heal and rebuild their lives. Thank you for making this lifesaving program possible!

*Names have been changed to respect the privacy of individuals.