United Kingdom United Kingdom Home Who we are Celebrating 25 years Our Patron The Board Our Staff Our Partners Utah Friends of AMAR Our Work Emergency Aid Healthcare Education Music News News Room Multimedia Photo Gallery Get Involved Fundraise for AMAR Make Noise, Change Lives! Events Join the team Donate Value for Money Donate FAQs Contact Select Page AMAR invests in the professional development of vulnerable Iraqis by Robert Cole | May 31, 2016 | UK News AMAR’s free vocational skills programme is helping thousands of people in Iraq to escape unemployment and poverty. The Invest Centre project provides the country’s Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and local communities with access to professional employment and entrepreneurial training, at six educational centres across Northern and Central Iraq. Through partnerships with local businesses it also creates vital work opportunities. The project offers some of Iraq’s most vulnerable people eight-week training courses in subjects and skills such as English, literacy, numeracy, business, financial literacy, handicrafts, I.T, hairdressing and sewing. The courses are currently available in Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Dohuk. It has already helped many Iraqis to find work to support their families. One of those that has benefited is Amnea Mahdi from Babil. When her husband was arrested, Amnea desperately needed to help her family and she signed up immediately on an Invest sewing course. “After two months of training I managed to get a financial grant from the Iraqi Red Cross of one million Iraqi Dinars. The training gave me the skills and qualifications I needed to build a successful sewing shop in my own home,” said Amnea. AMAR has trained 36 teachers to deliver the courses, which are designed not only to teach skills to help them find work, but also to provide them with a new social network and access to humanitarian services. Another success story is that of Rawea Abas Laftah, a mother-of-two and now a hard-working graduate of one of AMAR’s hairdressing courses. “I am now an assistant hairdresser. I work at a hair parlour in Erbil owned by a Syrian refugee. The monthly salary lets me support my family. I am so happy to have this work and my sister is now studying on the same course,” explained Rawea. Living in the AL Kharkh neighbourhood of Baghdad with her three children, Nahid Qahtan, is a recent graduate of the English language course. “I did not know any English at all and I found it impossible to help my children with their school work. But now, the training course has helped me to feel the joy of teaching my children. It’s marvellous, ” said Nahid. As well as offering training courses, the project also provides childcare centres for local and displaced children supported by six teachers. One of the children Ateqa teaches is Fatema, a shy five-year-old IDP now living in the Al-Rusafah neighbourhood of Baghdad. Ateqa wanted to highlight the real difference AMAR’s Invest centres are making to children like Fatema. “She did not play with other children when she first joined the kindergarten. Now she has begun to talk with the others and takes an active part in class. It’s wonderful to see her laugh and smile,” said Ateqa. “The kindergarten means mothers can go to work knowing that their children are in safe hands.” AMAR’s chairman, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne says the charity is delighted at the results being achieved by Invest. “Men, women and children in Iraq have suffered huge trauma, especially since the invasion of Daesh which has forced 3.4 million Iraqis to become refugees in their own country. They have lost everything,” explained the Baroness. “One of their first priorities of course is to support their families. AMAR’s Invest scheme has been designed to provide as many IDPs as possible with the ways and means to do this. They are leaving us now with valuable skills in everything from sewing and hairdressing to speaking basic English and IT. It’s a terrific and vital project and I and my teams are delighted with its success.” Archives July 2020 (1) April 2020 (3) December 2019 (1) April 2019 (2) March 2019 (1) February 2019 (2) December 2018 (1) November 2018 (2) October 2018 (1) September 2018 (1) August 2018 (2) July 2018 (1) April 2018 (2) March 2018 (1) January 2018 (2) September 2017 (1) August 2017 (1) June 2017 (3) April 2017 (3) March 2017 (2) February 2017 (3) January 2017 (3) December 2016 (2) November 2016 (2) October 2016 (2) August 2016 (4) July 2016 (3) June 2016 (2) May 2016 (1) April 2016 (5) March 2016 (4) February 2016 (6) January 2016 (4) December 2015 (6) November 2015 (9) October 2015 (3) September 2015 (1) July 2015 (1) June 2015 (5) May 2015 (2) April 2015 (2) March 2015 (4) February 2015 (7) December 2014 (2) October 2014 (3) August 2014 (1) June 2014 (2) May 2014 (1) March 2014 (1) November 2013 (1) October 2013 (2) May 2013 (1) March 2013 (1) February 2013 (2) Recent Posts NEW AMAR PSYCHO SOCIAL PROGRAM IN KRI July 17, 2020 COVID-19 risks deepening mental health crisis for Yazidis in Iraq April 30, 2020 Yazidis in Iraq start New Year under threat of COVID-19 April 15, 2020 A message from our Patron April 7, 2020 Music Project December 10, 2019 STAY UPDATED Email Address Submit UK Registered Charity Number: 1047432Cookies and Privacy Policy By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information Accept The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. 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