Here is a sneak peek:
Meet Mahya
Born in Samarra, Iraq, she is now an internally displaced person (IDP). There were few job opportunities for her family so when their house collapsed, something had to change. Her mother brought Mahya to Sulaymaniyah, along with siblings and extended family – eight children were living in very poor conditions with basic needs such as food and clothing not being met.
Mahya and three other children (under school age) also had no identification papers (ID), only birth certificates. ID is a requirement to register in a school. Mahya told our staff that every day she stood in front of the school for a few minutes, hoping that one day she would be able to go to school like other children.
As soon as the staff heard she wanted to go back to school, they visited her family. After a long discussion about the importance of education, they agreed to STEP’s recommendation that she return to school.
The same day, STEP’s staff visited the nearest school to start the return-to-school process. There is an IDP school in her area and our staff have pre-existing relationships with the teachers and head teacher at the school. Mahya was accepted as a pupil provided her family starts the process of obtaining legal documents for her. STEP’s speedy response made her very happy, and she is excited to start attending school.
In February when staff carried out a home-visit, they heard that Mahya's studies had been going so well that she received a prize from her head teacher for high marks. She was very happy about attending school and will continue to visit the DIC for extra lessons and recreational activities.
Our staff asked Mahya: What would you like to be when you grow up?’
‘I like become a teacher because teachers have knowledge about everything.’
In addition to listening to children and providing support tailored to their unique situation, we also provided resilience-building activities:
If you’d like to read about others we’ve supported and how many children were impacted in 2022, click here.
