January 9, 2024
News
Sarah is a 58-year-old mother of six from Iraq. She never finished her education as she was busy taking care of the household. After having to flee her hometown because of the so-called Islamic State, Sarah found a skill that could help her provide for her family: sewing. Caritas Czech Republic helped her grow her business through providing her with a business management training and a grant, with which she could invest in better equipment.
The people she met in Zakho gave Sarah a sewing machine
When in 2014 the self-proclaimed Islamic State attacked Bartella, a predominantly Christian town in Ninawa governorate, Sarah and her family fled to Zakho, a city near the Turkish border. The living conditions were harsh. Sarah's family had to live in a constrained space and lacked food and water. They also struggled financially, but Sarah could not leave for work since she had to look after her daughter with disabilities.
But then, the people she met in Zakho noticed that she liked to sew. “They gave me a sewing machine and encouraged me to develop my sewing skills,” she says. “They started to bring me their clothes so I could fix them.” She also started watching online sewing tutorials.
Once back, Sarah heard about our business trainings
When Sarah returned to her hometown of Bartella in 2017, she turned one room in her house into a sewing workshop. One day at church, she heard about a Caritas Czech Republic’s training, aimed at Christian business owners who had to flee the Islamic State. She signed up, and after a couple of days, she was invited to attend the 15-day business management course. “I learned how to promote my products on social media,” she recalls the programme.
After the training, carried out by Caritas Czech Republic in partnership with the Italian NGO Condivisione fra i popoli and funded by the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation within the project “Socio-economic inclusion of vulnerable Christian minorities in Iraq”, Sarah also invested in better sewing machines, which helped her improve her craft.
Grateful for the opportunity, Sarah encourages everyone with a talent in sewing to develop their skills and benefit their communities. “Focus on what you want to achieve in life, work every day for it, and one day you will achieve it.”
Caritas Czech Republic in Iraq
Since the so-called Islamic State invaded Iraq in 2014, millions of Iraqis were forced to flee their homes. To this day, many people do not have access to adequate accommodation, essential services or a good source of income. Sarah is one of the many Iraqis Caritas Czech Republic in Iraq supported with vocational training and financial grants, helping them to restore their business and start new ones.
In Iraq, we also provide shelter for people who have lost their homes to the war, support farmers to rebuild their destroyed farms and adapt to the climate change and help young people to enter the job market through internship programs.
Thank you for helping with us!
