Sisters' Stories: Teenager Sonia discovers art, crafts and friendship at our centre

‘Sisters’ Stories’ is our series of close-ups on some of the women and girls we support on a daily basis – and 17-year-old Sonia is certainly an inspiration to us all.

A terrified young child when ISIS attacked her village in Sinjar way back in 2014, Sonia and her loved ones were forced to flee their home and seek safety in the surrounding mountains. After months on the road, they arrived at Essyan camp for IDPs in 2015, full of fear and uncertainty about their future lives.

Life in the camp has always been hard for the family, but for Sonia, continuing her education was vitally important. “Even in displacement I kept going to school, and I took part in any available courses to improve my learning,” she says.

Earlier this year, she signed up to one of the Lotus Flower’s craft courses for three months, which has sparked a huge passion in her for creativity and art. “It has given me skills in reusing materials around the house so that I can make decorations and items which are useful for my family,” says Sonia.

Her work includes elaborate wall hangings, 3D art, decorative baskets and storage boxes, as well as knitted garments. “I have really enjoyed learning these new skills, and I also love spending time at the Lotus Flower centre with my friends.”

Sonia has bright hopes for the future, too. “Now I am skilled in craft-making, it is my dream to be able to open my own business where I can sell handmade items like these for weddings, celebrations and for people to use in their houses.”

Our craft-based courses play a key part in our holistic programming, which we believe is essential for women and girls to begin healing from past trauma and to improve their mental health. As such, our centres offer regular classes in activities like sewing, knitting and beading, as well as art therapy and photography. We also provide weekly yoga, sports and boxing sessions, which not only boosts women and girls’ wellbeing, but enables them to bond and grow their self-confidence too.

We love seeing young women like Sonia thrive, and hope you can support us so we can keep growing our reach and providing more of these classes…