New project with CARE targets gender-based violence

The Lotus Flower is very happy to have launched a much-needed new project which sees us providing protection services to vulnerable communities in Duhok.

In a new partnership with CARE through funding from European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), we’re working to boost access to response services to those most at risk of gender-based violence (GBV) in camps as well as host communities in Derabon, Khanki and Sharya.

As part of the project, we have begun providing free and confidential case management support and referral services to 140 GBV survivors and at-risk women, girls, men and boys and their families, meaning they will be able to access essential health and psychosocial support, plus legal help and other specialised services.

With 12 case workers on hand to oversee this in the three project locations, we are utilising nine community mobilisers to identify and refer individual cases. In addition, we are providing cash assistance to survivors who receive case management, including individual heads of household with little or no income, those with psychosocial needs, older people with no family support, and at-risk children and young people.

Another part of the project will see us distribute dignity kits, including sanitary pads, to 1,400 of the most vulnerable women and girls. This will allow their essential hygiene needs to be met when low incomes mean they must focus on essential food and other basic needs.

In addition, the project – which runs until the end of this year – will see us establish women-led committees, who will train as local GBV focal points. Comprising of community workers and leaders, the committees will raise awareness of GBV and organise appropriate response services through community and health centres, women-only spaces, online campaigns and community events which also involve men and boys. The committee members will also be trained in referral mechanisms.

Our partners CARE will also be ensuring that beneficiaries will have greater access to safe, quality water and better sanitation and hygiene facilities in the same locations.

Overall, this is a hugely important intervention, and we’re very grateful to our partners for enabling it to happen. We’re confident it’s going to bring extremely positive impacts, and will of course keep you posted…

Meet the graduates from our Youth Suicide Prevention project

We were so proud to see the first group taking part in our Youth Suicide Prevention project graduate recently.

The group celebrated with a special ceremony and were given certificates to mark the occasion, while they also enjoyed plenty of music, dance and sweet treats.

Aimed at alleviating mental health issues and reducing suicidal tendencies in youths, the project – in partnership with the German Consulate in Erbil – provides mental health counselling, art and music therapy, plus yoga and English classes.

Nazhan is one of the participants. Aged 18, he came to Essyan camp with his family as a young boy after ISIS attacked his home region in Sinjar. Now at secondary school, he joined the project because he wanted to learn English and develop new skills to complement his education.

He says: “It is important to have these types of activities to enable youths to learn more, but also to have fun. Since participating in the project, I’ve seen myself become more proactive. For instance in music classes, I dance a lot and have a good time.”

He adds: “I also really enjoy the art classes, and want to highlight that these activities make young people feel better and enjoy their days, while also helping improve our mental health and wellbeing.”

Another participant, Belar, says: “I especially love the yoga classes, and I can see I am improving day by day. These activities also help us change our thoughts and avoid thinking negatively.”

Below you can see a selection of photos from the various activities – and there’ll be more to come from the second group taking part soon…

Our new boxing and literacy project with Medica Mondiale begins

We are thrilled to have just begun a major new project with Medica Mondiale, the leading women’s rights and aid organisation. The programme sees us partnering to provide our groundbreaking Boxing Sisters training and self-defence for women and girls, along with literacy classes and awareness sessions on gender-based violence. 

The six-month project at Essyan camp is designed to improve vulnerable survivors’ mental and physical health and to help them heal from years of trauma and upheaval. It will also increase their confidence and employability through literacy classes, and help boost understanding of their rights in relation to violence and abuse. As with most of our projects, we have prioritised those who are most in need of support, as well as those who have not been reached before by this kind of programme. In addition, the participants’ family members will also be invited to attend awareness-raising sessions.

As you may already know, our boxing and self-defence classes are incredibly popular, enabling long-lasting friendships to form and helping girls channel and process feelings of anger, loss and resentment which have built up during years of conflict and displacement. Boxing also helps improve girls’ self-confidence and ability to protect themselves.

Typically, those benefitting from the project have previously had little or no support for their wellbeing. During the ISIS conflict, many of them lost family members or saw them disappear without trace, and others were kidnapped or subjected to slavery and violence. Those who were impacted still struggle to process emotions, and uncertainty and confusion still exists around their rights.

Our Regional Director Vian Ahmed says: “We are delighted to have teamed up with Medica Mondiale for this new project. The organisation shares the Lotus Flower’s values in working to empower women and girls and protect them from gender-based violence, and this makes us ideal partners.”

Founded in 1993, Medica Mondiale supports women and girls who have experienced sexualised wartime violence, working with local, female-led partner organisations to achieve its goals. It also strives to assert women’s rights and raise awareness of the consequences of violence across all of society.

We’ll be bringing you many more updates on the project as it progresses…

Sisters' Stories: How baking transformed these women's lives

Our Baking Sisters programme is one of our core income-generating schemes, and sees many of the women we support running their own successful camp-based bakery and coffee shop, plus a social enterprise.

With so many life events happening in camps, there’s always huge demand for cakes and bakes to celebrate birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and religious and traditional occasions. Women and girls also love to meet up to share a homemade treat and talk freely in our dedicated cafe space.

Baking Sisters started as a small project, utilising the talents of a few skilled bakers, but has since developed into a long-term project which has moved into a more extensive community space. The scheme not only equips women with the skills to cook, but also fosters friendships, healing and community spirit, while simultaneously building their confidence.

Crucially, Baking Sisters is managed and operated by the women themselves – with the initial equipment, structures, capital goods and raw ingredients provided by the Lotus Flower.

Here you can see some of the women’s own stories and verdicts on the project - which we’re so proud of!

Are you following all our social channels?

Did you know you can support and follow the Lotus Flower across a wide range of social media?

Chances are you might already be following us on one or two platforms, but we’re actually active in six different social spaces in all, so we thought it be useful to share where you can find them in one place.

First up, we’re on Twitter here.

Then you can hop over to Instagram and say hello here.

Over on Facebook, we’re right about here.

And we sometimes share stuff on YouTube here, so do subscribe.

You can follow our LinkedIn page here too.

Finally, we’ve recently joined TikTok and we’d love you to watch our videos here too!

We look forward to you following us and sharing our journey in all of these ways…

Sisters' Stories: How our project with The Big Heart Foundation and NAMA is helping ISIS survivor Asima

Since launching in December, our project with The Big Heart Foundation and NAMA Women Advancement has been making great strides, with many women and girls experiencing significant benefits to their lives.

The year-long Women’s Business Incubation initiative is providing financial support and business mentorship for new and existing women-led small businesses, as well as mental health support. The project is also delivering large-scale community awareness sessions to help reduce and prevent gender-based violence. 

One of the beneficiaries of the project is Asima, a 19-year-old living at Essyan camp with her four siblings and mother, after her father passed away 10 years ago. Like thousands of other Yazidis, she and her family experienced extreme hardship during the ISIS attacks of 2014, and after being forced to flee their home, they became being stuck on Mount Sinjar for five days, with no food or water. Asima has never had the chance to attend school, and has instead been responsible for taking care of her younger siblings.

Asima is just one beneficiary of many

But after recently participating in our project, receiving mental health therapy and taking part in a range of awareness activities, she says: “I used to be alone in our tent with nothing to do, so I wanted to socialise more and try new things.

“I have learned a lot from the mental health sessions, and am feeling calmer and better after getting to know girls from the camp.”

Using techniques taught by our psychologist, Asima is now able to manage her anxiety and negative emotions. “I continuously practice the things we’ve learned in the sessions, and it has made me feel more joyful, and less alone.”

The Women’s Business Incubation project is being run at Essyan, Rwanga and Domiz 2 camps, with 10 women also receiving financial grants and mentorship in order to launch a new small business. Their training covers the fundamentals needed to start a business, from market research and planning through to launch, effective management, recruitment and networking.  In addition, a further 10 women whose businesses have been badly impacted by the pandemic are recieving financial grants and mentoring so that they can refresh and relaunch their businesses, with a focus on digital and online marketing, social media for business, crisis management, hygiene training and delivery services.

We’re so grateful to The Big Heart Foundation and NAMA for their support and for enabling us to reach so many displaced women and girls in this way…

UN Refugee Agency highlights our Boxing Sisters project

We were thrilled to have the UN Refugee Agency visit us recently to see our work first-hand - including our groundbreaking Boxing Sisters project.

The UNHCR team then posted a brilliant video about the project which you can see below, as well as focusing on the story of our trainer Nathifa and one of the young participants on their website.

We feel very honoured to have our work brought to a wider audience in this way, and obviously really want to keep providing these important projects for young conflict survivors. The coverage also comes hot on the heels of our Innovation award from the UNHCR, given in recognition of our Women’s Business Incubator project.

Anyway, you can watch the boxing video here - and we hope you find it as inspiring as we do!

Listen to our Founder Taban on the Change Makers podcast

Our Founder Taban Shoresh recently appeared on the Change Makers podcast with host Michael Hayman to talk about her extraordinary life experiences, and her motivation for wanting to make a difference in the world through the Lotus Flower.

In the talk, she recalls her journey as a child genocide survivor in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – and the terrifying moment she and her family realised they were going to be buried alive by Saddam Hussein’s men.

“All the adults screamed and started wailing as they could see the diggers, and they knew what that meant,” Taban tells Michael. “They would dig holes and make everyone lie in them alive, and slowly shovel soil over them. It was a very, very slow death, and everyone knew it.”

By a stroke of huge luck, the family were rescued at the last minute and they eventually arrived in the UK to start a new life.

In the podcast, Taban recounts her career path and why she felt compelled to start the Lotus Flower, as well as sharing her experiences as a single mother and domestic violence survivor.

She also explains why she will stop at nothing to keep helping other conflict survivors. “There’s so much change we can do in the world if we collaboratively come together and figure out how we can provide solutions to different problems.

“It’s taking a problem and looking at it through quite a small lens. I believe everything does have a solution.”

Do check out the recording here - we’re sure you’ll find it a massively inspiring listen!

Have you read our latest impact report?

As any non-profit will tell you, a really important part of what we do is keeping supporters informed about our work, how we spend donations and grants, and how many people are actually benefitting from our projects and programs.

With this in mind, we recently published our latest impact report for 2021, and if you haven’t already seen this, you can read it here. (We promise it’s really interesting - and actually pretty inspiring!) The report shares details of our key projects and pillars to date, some stories about those we reach, and testimonials from some of our donors and partners.

You’ll also see in the report that through our three core pillars, we’ve reached the following numbers of beneficiaries:

Health & Safety – 26,658

Peacebuilding & Human Rights – 9,934

Education & Livelihoods – 5,091

Given that we are still a small charity and were founded with zero money in the front room of our CEO Taban Shoresh, we’re all really proud of these figures.

As the report aims to show, creating impact is at the heart of what we do, and we take much from the words of Sophie, one of our major donors, who says: “We look for impact-driven approach, which is at the centre of the Lotus Flower.”

Theres is of course so much more we need to do, but if you’ve ever given money to the Lotus Flower, you too might be interested to see how we have used your donation, and how we’re looking to grow in future. So we hope you find the report useful – and please do get in touch if you have any questions or comments!

Sisters' Stories: 'Before taking literacy classes I felt like I couldn't see'

We hope you enjoy reading our regular Sisters’ Stories, which are all about the women and girls we support from week to week.

This week, we’re introducing you to Aliya, who is another of the beneficiaries of our literacy program. She is 24 and has lived at Rwanga camp for displaced people ever since 2014 when ISIS attacked her city. “Men were being killed and women were being taken into slavery, so we had to flee to the Kurdistan region,” she recalls.

Aliya and her family understandably found adjusting to life in the camp very tough, and because she had been deprived of her own education, she could not read or write either. “This made me feel like someone who could not see,” she adds.

Eventually, she started taking the Lotus Flower’s literacy classes, which means she not only has new skills in reading and writing, but she can also teach her own children. “The classes were very useful for me, and because I can now help myself and my family, it has improved my mental health and helped me stop overthinking things.”

She is far from alone in experiencing these benefits, and so many of the women and girls who take our literacy classes say it improves their psychological wellbeing, as well as increasing their confidence, self-belief and inter-personal skills.

Literacy is one of our core projects, which runs alongside English language classes. During the three-month course, participants develop an understanding of the alphabet, how to write letters and numbers, and soon they are able to construct simple sentences. Classes also include discussion and awareness of key topics around women’s rights. 

Since increased literacy is known to boost women’s social and economic chances and accordingly reduce poverty, we’re sure you understand why offering these classes is - and will remain - one of our biggest priorities…

Sisters’ Stories: How new friendships are helping Zarifa heal

While our projects are all about women and girls learning and gaining new skills, we also strongly believe in the power of shared experience as a means of healing from trauma.  

As a result, our safe women’s centres are geared towards bringing women and girls together so that they can build friendships, share stories and move forwards collectively.

Zarifa is one woman who has attended several of our groups and classes, and she has personally benefitted from the support of others around her. Aged 21, she has lived at Essyan camp ever since ISIS invaded her home region. Having left school with no qualifications, Zarifa first came to our women’s centre last year and has been attending awareness sessions and our popular photography course.

She says: “Being with others during classes and training makes me feel happy. I like being with friends while learning skills that benefit my life, instead of spending most of it on social media and doing other useless stuff.”

Zarifa’s view is shared by most of those we support, who otherwise have little to do. Life in cramped tents and cabins offers little distraction, and often leads to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Many women have low self-esteem too, as they are used to feeling excluded and unheard within society, while they have also lost sloved ones and family members.

Our cafe is a place for healing and friendships

As well as running our specific projects, our four women’s centres serve as a place for survivors to gather and talk freely. Additionally, our Lotus Café is a place where women can relax and eat high-quality food which they prepare and sell themselves. And we also run exercise classes which offer further opportunity for all ages to unwind and release stress and tension.

It’s this holistic approach that makes the Lotus Flower different, because traditionally there have been very few services like this for women and girls living in camps. We’d love it if you could help us support others like Zarifa by donating below…

We receive our big UNHCR award in Geneva

Following our incredible UNHCR win for innovation earlier this year, our founder and CEO Taban Shoresh was thrilled to pick up the award at a major event in Geneva.

During the 2022 UNHCR-NGO Global Consultations event, Taban received recognition for our Women’s Business Incubator project, which provides business grants and training for women to start their own small businesses.

Taban was also invited to take part in an expert panel on women-led organisations at the event, which was based around two main themes of localisation and climate action.

Taban, third from right, received our award

The UNHCR singled out our Incubator for its innovative qualities in enabling vulnerable women to earn a sustainable income, so that they can support themselves and their families, and move out of poverty.

As you can see in the video of the panel below, Taban spoke about her reasons for launching the Lotus Flower and the importance of working locally with women and girls. She also explained the challenges we face, and our need for longer term support to achieve our goals.

The Global Consultations event emphasised the growing need to empower national and local humanitarian action and move towards greater localisation – where organisations are run by those most affected. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this approach even more important, as local people are often better placed to provide support and services in areas where outside organisations have limited or restricted access.

We were so proud to have been involved, and thank the organisers for recognising our work…

Sisters’ Stories: ‘Mediation can be the ultimate solution to conflict’ – Peace Sister Mariam

A new round of our Peace Sisters project is well underway now, with 50 women and girls currently taking part in training in mediation and conflict resolution.

The project is supported by Cordaid’s Women Voices First programme and UK in Iraq, and is reaching women and girls in out-of-camp locations within Zakho and Al-Hamdaniya communities.

So far, the training has included two-day workshops on the UN’s landmark Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, which recognises the disproportionate and unique impact of conflict on women and girls.

One of the participants is 20-year-old Mariam, a student who lives in Zakho. She says: “The project really got my attention and when I was informed that I had been accepted, I was very happy!”

Mariam says she has already learned a great deal during the sessions, adding: “I’ve learned that the solution for conflict is not force or creating more conflict – mediation can be the ultimate solution. I am also now more open to accepting different opinions, new faces and the new world we live in. Now I understand that we as women are capable of anything, any time.

“In our communities, women are mainly housewives and mothers, and most don’t have many opportunities to participate in activities. For me this is totally wrong, as I strongly believe that women are talented and can do so much more. Skills like mediation and conflict resolution can offer women a brighter future.”

Mariam is enjoying the project so far

This current iteration of our Peace Sisters project is especially significant as it is focusing on the outside-camp locations of Zakho and Al Hamdaniya. This matters because a recent needs overview from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) stated that displaced people outside camps are most vulnerable.

As well as training in mediation and conflict resolution, the project promotes women’s participation in leadership and decision-making to enhance peacebuilding and social cohesion, and also covers human rights awareness and the prevention of gender-based violence. Additionally, the Peace Sisters will receive training in critical thinking, leadership and advocacy, and they will lead workshops to bring together women activists and local leaders. When the training concludes, the Sisters will then select their own community initiatives to be implemented, with our support.

Sisters' Stories: ‘Being part of Peace Sisters was so precious’

Our Peace Sisters project has grown so much since it first launched, and we’re really happy that it continues to inspire the women and girls who take part.

One of the first Peace Sisters to graduate from the programme was Hajar, a 22-year-old from Syria who fled to Domiz 2 refugee camp following the ISIS atrocities. She has six sisters and a brother, and life has been extremely tough for the family in recent years – especially as she has an inherited blood disorder called Thalassemia.

The condition means that the body has less haemoglobin than normal, which can cause anaemia and fatigue. “My life doesn’t run smoothly, so I usually spend most of my day at home and am unable to do much,” says Hajar. “Being sick while living in a camp with this condition makes life much harder, and puts more obstacles in your way.”

Hajar is now a trained Peace Sister

Last year, Hajar had the chance to take part in our Peace Sisters programme, which trains women and girls to be peace defenders and mediators within their own communities. In partnership with the German Consulate in Erbil, the project also provides skills in communications, teamwork and public speaking. “I participated in the training because I love learning new things and discovering new skills,” says Hajar. “I enjoyed the training days, and learned many things. The fact the mediation was taught by women was one of the most significant experiences for me.”

She hopes to pass the skills she developed on to others in her community and adds: “The time I spent with the Peace Sisters was so precious, and I hope we as girls and women keep being part of this family.”

The Peace Sisters ‘family’

We believe Peace Sisters is one of the first projects to focus on women becoming primary drivers of peacebuilding and social cohesion in this way. The programme features workshops that encourage inclusion, collaboration and open dialogue across multiple faiths, cultures and generations, as well as involving men and boys in key conversations.

Having recently started a brand new run of the project in Zakho and Al Hamdaniya districts, we look forward to many more women and girls becoming fully-trained Peace Sisters soon!

Sisters' Stories: How sport helped ISIS survivor Bare's mental health

It’s a well-known fact that sport and exercise are great for improving mental health - which is why we regularly provide fitness classes for women of all ages.

Previously, those we support have had little chance to attend such sessions, and have even been urged not to exercise in public, as to do so has traditionally been seen as indecent. Understandably, many women still fear that taking part in any fitness activities could leave them exposed to ostracisation and local backlash - another example of the way their basic rights have been eroded for generations.

One of the women who has found our sports classes hugely beneficial is Bare, a 34-year-old who has been living at Rwanga camp since fleeing the ISIS attacks.

She says: “Before being involved in the Lotus Flower’s sports classes, I used to be depressed and have unstable mental health. Taking part in the training at the women’s centre has helped me with my mental health, and I am really grateful to the team for this.”

As well as providing gentle keep-fit classes for women of all ages and abilities, we run yoga classes too, plus our phenomenally popular Boxing Sisters programme. Not only are these sorts of sessions good for boosting mental health, but they also provide a chance for women and girls to meet in a safe space and form friendships.

According to Sport England, these are the main effects of physical activity on mental health:

• Improved mood
  Research has found that people feel more awake, calmer and more content after physical activity.

• Reduced stress
  Research has shown that active people tend to have lower stress rates compared to those who are less active.

• Higher self-esteem
  How we feel about ourselves and our perceived self-worth improve when we exercise.

• Lower rates of depression and anxiety
  Exercise has been described as a “wonder drug” for preventing and managing mental health issues.

A guide to fundraising for the Lotus Flower

We know it can be daunting to start your own fundraiser, but it’s honestly much easier than it might seem!

Since the start of the pandemic, organisations like ours have seen a big drop in funding from major international donors, so we are more reliant on help from our supporters than ever before.

Raising money for us can have such a big impact on our work, and it doesn't even have to bring in huge sums of money, because if everyone got involved, it would quickly add up to make a real difference.

Here’s our guide on how to get started…

1) Where do you want to raise funds?

You can use our dedicated fundraising page at JustGiving, which is so simple. Just click the ‘Fundraise for us’ button to kick things off, and then your friends and family can simply pledge a donation directly to your page. Alternatively, you could set up a Facebook Fundraiser, which is a very popular platform for charitable giving.

2) What do you want to do?

You could set yourself a personal challenge, like a sponsored bike ride or doing 10,000 steps a day for a month. Or you can perhaps arrange a group activity – such as a danceathon, a tea party or summer BBQ where everyone donates a sum to take part. Similarly, you could hold a cake sale at work, or a raffle through a social club. The possibilities are truly endless – and there are some ideas here to get you thinking…

3) Set a target

How much would you ideally like to raise? £100 or £1,000, and in what timescale? It’s good to be realistic, while remembering that we’ll be grateful for anything at all! 

4) Share your goals

Don’t forget to tell people what you’re doing to encourage donations. Use your social networks and keep reminding everyone you know! It’s also a good idea to include information on your fundraising page about the Lotus Flower, so people know where the money is going, and what an essential cause it is.

See, it really is as straightforward as that! So please do get involved – your support genuinely means the world to us…

Influencer Sazan Amin runs beauty masterclass for women makeup artists

We were thrilled to welcome global entrepreneur and influencer Sazan Amin to deliver a beauty masterclass to a small group of emerging makeup artists in Rwanga IDP camp this week.

As the owner of her own cosmetic brand, Sazan has a huge following and immense knowledge about the industry – which she was kindly able to share with the women participants. As well as passing on her makeup tips and skills, she gave the women lots of insight about the workings of the growing beauty business, which will be vital for them as they look to build their own careers and achieve economic independence.

All those who took part in Sazan’s Professional MakeUp Academy received a certificate and a bag of essential beauty items – and as you can see from the photos below, the day was a huge success!

Our new youth suicide prevention project launches

This week saw us launch a major new project aimed at improving mental health and reducing cases of youth suicide.

The project - in partnership with our friends at the German Consulate in Erbil - sees group and individual mental health therapy for young people and their families, which is aimed at reducing suicidal feelings and tendencies, as well as lowering anxiety and depression. The sessions are to be held by trained psychologists.

In addition, participants will learn to manage their wellbeing and mental health more effectively through healing activities such as music, art therapy and yoga, which will help relieve stress. They will also take part in English language classes which will improve their communication and employability skills, and increase their confidence.

The project is vitally important, as according to local authorities, there were 45 suicide attempts and deaths in 2021 - the majority of which were young girls. Cases have been rising during the pandemic, with lockdowns leading to increased GBV, loss of jobs and financial stability, rights violations and escalating mental health problems.

According to a Lotus Flower psychologist, many females in group sessions have also expressed hopelessness for the future, with some saying they have had suicidal thoughts, or attempted suicide.

Displaced Yazidis in the camps where we work still also bear deep mental scars from the lSlS attacks of 2014. And according to the UNHCR, one in five people in refugee communities suffer from conditions of clinical concern. A sense of hopelessness pervades amongst youths, who have little to do and extremely limited opportunities.

While a few other organisations have been carrying out suicide awareness activities in the region, we do not believe any of them have been providing intensive mental health support which specifically benefits youths and women, making our project all the more important.

The activities commenced this week with a special induction day for new staff as well as two workshops, and the project will run until the end of the year.

Sisters' Stories: Photography helps Dilveen tackle mental health issues

Our popular Storytelling Sisters project provides girls with a combination of photography and creative writing skills, enabling them to share their experiences through imagery and words. 

Dilveen is a 19-year-old conflict survivor who lives at Essyan camp after fleeing the ISIS attacks of 2014, and she is just one of those who have found huge personal benefits from the project. She says: “I like being part of the photography training classes at the Lotus Flower centre, because they build my skills in taking professional photos and telling stories of people through them.”

After her traumatic experiences of the war - which saw Dilveen and her family forced to leave their home - she suffered from mental health issues which left her feeling alone and unable to make new friends. “The classes have helped me socialise more with others inside the camp, which comes after I was isolated due to psychological issues.”

She adds: “The training here is so useful to me, and I hope there will be  more opportunities like this for me and other young girls in the camp.”

As part of the programme, women and girls learn how to use DLSR cameras and photo editing software, plus how to create video content and use social media platforms to share their work. The scheme serves as a creative outlet which helps women and girls process their emotions after years of conflict, as well as the harsh realities of being displaced.

Storytelling Sisters also aims to offer the participants highly transferable skills which will prove useful in securing future employment, while others have gone on to obtain a job as professional trainer within the Lotus Flower itself.

Please do support our work so that we can continue to provide these valuable opportunities for women and girls…

We’re shortlisted in the prestigious Charity Awards

We’re thrilled to announce that the Lotus Flower has been shortlisted in this year’s Charity Awards, the longest-running and most prestigious awards scheme in the UK charity sector.

We are one of just four charities to have been nominated in the International Aid and Development category, in recognition of our Men and Boys’ Trauma project. As one of our newest initiatives, we started the project with our partners Khaima late last year and it proved so successful that we recently launched a second run. The project targets male refugees at Domiz 2 camp in Kurdistan, who have previously had little or no access to support services – especially any serving their mental health needs.

The project has been specially designed to encourage healing through discussion and exploration of the men and boys’ feelings following years of conflict and trauma.  Activities include individual and group psychological counselling, art therapy, music, poetry and English classes, and the sessions aim to increase participants’ self-confidence and esteem, help tackle harmful stereotypes and behaviours, and crucially, show them that male refugees are not 'forgotten'. As one participant told us recently: “This project has helped me improve my skills, rebuild my life and become a better father to my kids, and a better husband to my wife.”

The project sees us approach key topics which have previously been taboo due to strict social customs, exploring masculinity, male social behaviours and gender tropes, and asking difficult and honest questions around gender-based violence, anger and domestic relationships.

Our Founder and CEO Taban Shoresh says: “Although we primarily support women and girl survivors, our groundbreaking project recognises that men and boys must not be left behind. They are victims of war too, and they must be included in humanitarian interventions if we are to ensure that women and girls can successfully rebuild their lives and move on from conflict.”

The Charity Awards are being judged by an independent panel of charity leaders, who have selected organisations which they believe have demonstrated outstanding best practice in leadership and management, and from which other organisations can learn.

Matthew Nolan, chief executive of Civil Society Media, which organises the Charity Awards, congratulated us on making the highly-coveted shortlist. He said: “The breadth and quality of the work being done by charities across the UK continues to astonish. The Lotus Flower should be very proud to have made the shortlist.

“For 22 years the Charity Awards have been identifying and celebrating the fantastic work that UK charities do. Our rigorous judging process highlights those charities with the most innovative ideas and the most effective approaches to delivering real change.”

The final awards will be announced at a black-tie dinner on 16 June, held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Wish us luck!