Meet Our M&E Officer Issa: “They encourage staff here to share their ideas”

Issa, an M&E Officer at The Lotus Flower. He and his family were impacted by the conflict, being an 8-month-old infant, in 1991 and were displaced to the city of Dashtan in Turkey. He says, “ I’ve been told that my grandmother was holding me on her lap in a salon car, my milk was distributed among family members so I don’t die from hunger.”

“The conflict also affected my father, who was looking after our family as well as my uncle's. Because the Iranian regime arrested my uncle after he was forced to fight in the Iraqi-Iranian War by the Iraqi government.”

Issa, now 34, graduated from the Computer Science Department at the University of Duhok and is working at The Lotus Flower. "I had heard about The Lotus Flower but wasn’t aware of their work. After a sports-related knee injury forced me to leave my previous job, I planned to take a few months off to rest. However, many of my friends spoke highly of The Lotus Flower’s healthy and friendly environment, so I decided to apply. Within a week, I moved to my new role at The Lotus Flower."

Issa’s primary work location is The Lotus Flower office in Duhok, but he also occasionally visits all of the centres and implementation sites.  “I am working for all of the projects; sometimes it depends on the project, like how big it is and how much time it will take, but I work for all of them.”

“The best thing about my job is my colleagues, especially the ones working with me directly, Muslim and Vian.” Says Issa.

Issa values the trust and support he receives at The Lotus Flower. “They encourage staff here to share their ideas; there is a lot of trust between them and their staff, and they are always looking for ways for improvement. They really value the skills of their staff members.”

Issa finds comfort when supporting others; he mentions that his nice memories are “Some of the volunteers that worked with us were very intelligent and skilled, and I helped them get jobs by giving them orientations and advice; they have secured great jobs now!”. 

Issa plans to work for The Lotus Flower until his retirement. “I want to work here until I retire and enjoy a simple life with my family." Outside work, he enjoys practising his hobbies: singing, playing guitar, football, and calligraphy.