Based on our study, Jiyan Foundation together with our partners, has begun a project to create entry points.
Based on our two-year study, Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights is conducting a project to provide entry points for Yazidi youth to reenter the educational system to gain employment and mitigate against re-enlistment or re-recruitment from military groups.
By providing capacity-building opportunities, this project is an entry point that assists Jiyan Foundation’s psychotherapists in identifying youth who are in need of mental health interventions.
Teaching tech and IT skills to refugees and IDPs
Many Yazidi youth and young adults living in IDP camps across the Nineveh region don’t have access to the computer technologies necessary to succeed in so many modern professional settings. In order to build a sustainable future for these young people, Jiyan Foundation is building local capacities by offering IT training courses in camps throughout the region.
The IT bus has been remodeled with 12 workstations where young people can learn to use essential software, including Windows OS, MS office suite, and Adobe Photoshop. Upon completing the three-five day training courses participants are awarded a certification noting their newly acquired skills.
The Toy Bus for children
The Toy Bus is designed for children 12 years and younger, who may have had experiences living in ISIS captivity, but are not yet of age to enter the work force.
The bus travels to IDP camps in the region with toys and tools to host screenings of children’s films. Jiyan Foundation staff organize games, and activities to engage with youth and build trust with the community.
Program coordinators are accompanied by a Jiyan Foundation’s psychotherapist to identify individuals in need of mental health interventions and treat them accordingly.
The IT and Toy Buses travel between Sharia camp, Khanke camp, Mamrashan camp, Shekhan camp, and Essan camp. This project is designed to help Yazidi youth reenter the educational system to gain employment and mitigate against re-enlistment or re-recruitment from military groups. In addition, this capacity-building project is designed to consider cultural, social, and contextual factorsthat can affect participation and trust with project staff.
This project was created from a pilot project “Deradicalization and Community-Reintegration Program for Former ISIS Child Soldiers and Vulnerable Children and Youth” and subsequent research conducted internally by Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights in Khanke camp (Duhok area) for Yazidi youth and in Laylan camp (Kirkuk area) for Sunni Arab youth.
This project is being implemented with the generous support of the German Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt).