Project Update: Shelter Upgrades for More than 500 Syrian Refugee Families
On September 30, 2022, Peace Winds embarked on a new two-year project to upgrade substandard shelters for Syrian refugees living in the Kurdistan Region, northern Iraq. So far this year, our teams in Duhok, Iraq have worked together with refugees to upgrade the homes of 526 families. Peace Winds is particularly focused on improving accessibility for refugees with disabilities, so shelter upgrades include modifications such as wider doorways, wheelchair-accessible ramps, handrails, and more accessible showers and latrines.
In addition to individual shelter improvements, Peace Winds has completed 16 upgrades to public camp spaces in Duhok this year, making them more accessible to people with disabilities. Modifications include coverings across open drainage channels and walkways, wheelchair-accessible ramps, handrails, and increased seating and signage.
Same family’s bathroom after upgrades
Rather than hiring contractors to perform the construction, Peace Winds’ unique cash-for-work approach allows beneficiaries to complete upgrades to their own shelters. This way, refugees are more invested in maintaining their homes in the long term, they earn wages, and they build construction skills that they can use to find future job opportunities and further support their families. For refugees who cannot or choose not to perform their own construction, Peace Winds hires workers from local job centers.
Hand-in-hand with Peace Winds’ cash-for-work approach are the workshops and tool service centers that we operate with our local partner organization, Barzani Charity Foundation. These spaces allow refugees to take courses on tool use and safety and borrow tools that they can use to work on personal projects or household repairs.
Last year, Peace Winds opened three new workshops in three camps in Duhok, and in total, we continue to operate twelve workshops and tool service centers in Erbil and Duhok. The opportunities that these centers provide allow refugees to gain skills that they can use to find future employment, save money on household repairs, and strengthen relationships with neighbors by helping them with repairs and construction work.
By the end of this project year in September, Peace Winds will have supported home upgrades for more than 600 Syrian refugee families. We look forward to improving homes and supporting livelihood opportunities for even more camp residents, providing them with an increased sense of safety and security that everyone deserves
This project is funded and supported by the U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and the U.S. Consulate General Erbil.