"Ibtisam" (Smile) is a psychosocial assistance project for children, active in 5 schools in Iraqi Kurdistan (KRG) and funded by Caritas Switzerland.

The project stems from the humanitarian crisis in Iraq in 2003, when a wave of violence hit Baghdad and triggered the first wave of IDPs seeking refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan and Northern Iraq. Back then, the focus was preparing Arabic study plans for the youngest IDPs in a region where school curricula are always in Kurdish, together with the provision of safe spaces and activities for the children by rebuilding 5 schools in and around the Nineveh Plane and the Erbil Governorate. Work continued throughout 2012 when the humanitarian crisis in Syria was beginning in Syria, so the schools also welcomed the refugee children seeking refuge in Iraq.

Then, in the summer of 2014, the Daesh invasion brought with it another wave of violence: some of the areas we were working in were occupied, so there were more IDPs, and more school-age children. So our project evolved to reflect the changing needs. In agreement with the donor, funds were shifted towards emergency work with the distribution of kits to satisfy basic needs, then school kits, and then we followed the fleeing communities in their quest for a safe place to live.

Today, the "Ibtisam" project is in its second phase which will continue throughout 2017. It has grown from 5 schools to 13, counts a total of 4,600 children, who benefit from the dedication of the teachers, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists who took part in our training courses, play-therapy sessions, resilience groups and other activities designed to help children overcome the trauma of war.

The "Ibtisam" schools became an example of integration between children from different backgrounds, but with similarly terrible life experiences.

The project was designed and implemented together with headmasters, teachers and social workers to try and restore the sense of calm and safety in schools and classrooms which disappears in times of crisis and displacement. The objective is to give the children a chance to continue their education and help them imagine a less frightening future.

Last year brought encouraging results: the children benefitted and Erbil’s Department of Mental Health decided to use the schools  as a model for the modernisation of their own infrastructure, by integrating the Education Sector with the Mental Health sector.

Confirmation of our belief that emergencies can actually be transformed into opportunities to make improvements.

To build a future without the need for humanitarian work, without losing the benefits of what has gone before, for the collective good.