How we're protecting vulnerable children and young people

As a part of our ongoing general protection project with Care Iraq through funding from ECHO, our team continue to conduct a range of activities with children which help keep them safe from harm.

This includes child protection case management, which targets those most in need of support, advice and referrals to specialised health, psychosocial and legal services.

In addition, awareness sessions are regularly held with women and adolescent girls in safe spaces on topics such as early and child marriage, domestic violence, reproductive rights, sexual abuse and exploitation, the significance of girls' education, cyber abuse and the causes and effects of GBV. These sessions reach participants within their own homes, at our centres and in school settings.

As another key element of the project, we also enhance young people’s skills through child resilience sessions, where participants are taught how to communicate with each other in more productive and healthier ways, as well as how to cope better with the many hardships they may face on a daily basis.

We also engage children through art therapy sessions, where they are encouraged to express themselves in more creative ways. The classes help improve their wellbeing, enabling them to share their feelings in non-verbal ways.   

We believe the work we are doing with this younger generation is crucial in order to safeguard and protect them from future issues and harms. We also maintain that by providing them with an understanding of vital protection concepts, the project will in turn help inform their roles in creating healthier, more resilient and fairer communities.

Elsewhere, the project is targeting hundreds of vulnerable women and men in urban locations around Seje, Sharya, Khanke and Derabon, providing mental health support as well as emergency cash assistance for those who are unable to meet the cost of essentials – such as rent, medical equipment or transportation fees.

We’re so pleased we have the chance to make a difference to so many lives in this way…