Background

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Yazidis are an ethno-religious minority in northern Iraq, whose people have been severely persecuted for hundreds of years. Since the start of the current crisis in 2014, they have been targeted even more aggressively. Germany has the second largest Yazidi population worldwide and is the main destination country for Yazidi survivors.

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The project

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A four-part psychosocial aid program:

• Psychosocial First Aid - Support groups for women and children survivors using art therapy.

• Training for local service providers - A project that trains a local grassroots organization of the Yazidi-German diaspora community

• Community empowerment and integration - A Jewish-Yazidi friendship and sponsorship project. The German Jewish community and their families help to sponsor the Yazidi community and their families.

• Counseling Center for Yazidi Survivors in Berlin

In collaboration with a local Yazidi-German NGO, we will establish the first counseling center for Yazidi survivors in Berlin.

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The goals

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• Reducing mental stress and post-traumatic stress symptoms

• Strengthening the community

• Empowering women

• Assisting with integration

• Building capacity of a local Yazidi-German NGO