Voices from Peace Winds Vocational Training: Episode 2
“When I was a child, I wanted to grow up and help my mother with family expenses.”
This is what Sahar, a participant in Peace Winds’ vocational training course, told our staff is her motivation for participating.
Since September 2020, Peace Winds has been providing vocational training courses inside and outside Shariya Camp in Shariya Sub District, Duhok Governorate, northern Iraq for internally displaced persons (IDPs)–people who have been forced out of their homes but remain in their country. Participants, including women and youth, can take courses in home maintenance (electricity and plumbing), cosmetology, and leadership, helping them gain skills they can use to find future income-earning opportunities or contribute to the community.
Peace Winds will share voices of the program’s participants in four separate articles. In this second article, you’ll hear from Sahar, who participated in the vocational training course for cosmetology.
Sahar, 20, is from Sinjar, Ninawa Governorate, Iraq. She was displaced from her home in 2014 due to an armed attack, and she now lives in a Shariya IDP camp in Duhok, Iraq. When Sahar was a child, her father died in a car accident, leaving behind a family of two daughters, two sons, and a disabled wife. When Peace Winds staff asked Sahar about her motivation to participate in the vocational training program, she told us about how she always wanted to help her mother with the family’s expenses.
After her family fled from Sinjar and settled down in the camp in Duhok, Sarah started working part-time with an NGO in the camp to earn money and support her loved ones. Her responsibilities increased when her older sister moved out to start her own family, so when Sahar heard that Peace Winds was holding vocational training courses that could help young people like her develop skills and find job opportunities, she immediately enrolled in the cosmetology course.
In the course, specifically designed for female youth, she worked hard to build her skills in makeup and hairdressing. After an intense fifteen days of classes, Sahar passed an entry skill test and was accepted by a local business as an intern. She even received a compliment from the business owner for her hard work and motivation.
Peace Winds believes in the power of youth and has been pleased to witness our vocational training participants gain confidence and broaden their opportunities. As we have done with the cosmetology course, Peace Winds will continue to offer vocational training opportunities while considering the cultural, social, and job market characteristics of the target region to ensure the effectiveness of the program.
This activity was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and generous donations from our supporters. Thank you for your continued support.
To read other articles from the vocational training series, visit https://peacewindsamerica.org/blog/