Reham, mother of 5 children who will not go to school. Reham from Diyala Al-Azim: When we returned to our Al-Azim area, we immediately regretted that decision. Everything was devastating and scary. I kept telling my children not to leave the house, but staying at home always affected us psychologically in the end. My youngest child goes to school, while my other children have dropped out. Always staying at home doing nothing with barely enough income to support the family in this war torn city was very difficult for us. I had to constantly monitor the children and lift their spirits to help them cope and this was exhausting for me. I heard about the organization Seeds Al Khair for Relief and Development and its services, so I visited one day to learn more. I realized that they had different types of activities like sewing, embroidery, knitting, drawing, etc. and I was happy about that. I chose the team's sewing and knitting course because I found it to be the most important to me. I learned to sew, knit and embroider, and they gave me a machine and a sewing kit, and now I can sew and embroider. This has been a life changing experience. Learning sewing and knitting in my area helps me in everything. I sew, sell clothes, and tailor clothes for my children and they are happy, or I go somewhere else, I can sell clothes and embroidery. I didn't know sewing and embroidery before. It opened my eyes and, more importantly, my heart. I kept a lot in my heart because of our situation, but coming here was a great opportunity to relieve stress by investing my time in learning something and meeting new people. I am very happy that there are different economic empowerment and recreational activities available here because people have different interests. I would also like to participate in a barber class activity for women after the sewing course. I've always loved shaving. “I feel younger, like a little girl.” In addition to promoting positive coping mechanisms, this community support serves as a gateway to confronting psychosocial challenges and identifying individuals who need more specialized mental health and psychosocial support in a way that does not tarnish the individual’s reputation. Reham also received She and her family received legal support for civil documentation through the Badzur Al-Khair Organization for Relief and Development. All of their identities are under renewal by the legal team. Civil documentation - a right in itself - is necessary for the exercise of other rights, including the rights to education, health, adequate housing, freedom of movement, and due process. Having the proper ID card helps enable access to public services, school registration, shelter support, and more. Seeds of Goodness Iraq provides mental health services, psychosocial support, socioeconomic empowerment, and legal assistance through integrated community-based approaches in Diyala; coordination between the two programs helps Providing more comprehensive support to people in Diyala who need multidimensional assistance. Indeed, in the context of displacement, needs are rarely singular and are often complex. Addressing economic, psychological and legal needs at the same time is essential to facilitate the voluntary and sustainable return of individuals to their areas of origin and achieve durable solutions to displacement. *Names have been changed for privacy reasons. Seeds of Goodness’ legal support for mental health, psychosocial support and economic empowerment in Diyala has become possible.
