LIVE FROM ERBIL: BIG DREAMS but step by step

Hellloooooo from Hawler!!

My dearest, most Loyal Reader.. When I am quiet for a bit you know something great is taking place!

There is always something exciting happening in my life here! This week my day has begun at 7:45 every morning until 5:30 pm, it is work but it never feels like work to me.

During one of our Y-Peer activities on day

At the moment I am working on a dream project, the idea is to train young people to go and hold peer education sessions to youth in high schools, colleges and youth centers. Something that has never taken place in Kurdistan before! Hence, it is the youth who are learning from other youth. Yup! Very new right?!

Never be reluctant to try something different

 My previous experience of giving a peer education session (I blogged about it here) inspired me to prepare many other youth to do the same. Soon a number of my close friends became involved, they took part in various workshops and slowly began holding sessions for other youth, the initiative grew and now with START NGO and UNFPA we are making it happen.

and it is show time! A role play activity with much benefit

 The group that I have been working with in the last four days are great in so many ways. I am already feeling emotional knowing that tomorrow work with this group will end, although I feel and know that we have planted in them a seed for the future. I know I will see them in great places doing great differences in the days, months and years to come. Tonight, I must admit I am very proud of myself and the team that I work with.Through interactive games and activities we manage to build a friendly atmosphere that the youth can learn a lot from.

Groups discuss their conclusions

During the breaks they often refuse to go out, instead we sit on the floor and sing. Few of the participants have great voices; one of the girls in particular has a voice that can produce a world's best seller album. We manage to write little compliments to each other and place it in the paper male boxes we have created, we play energizers when we feel we can't take in the raw information anymore and we share our stories and experiences. At the same time we are learning and studying, in a fun, youth friendly way. 

Group work!

 I can sit down and blog about each of the participants, about their personalities, their life and everything that I see in them. Here we are, 32 young people (17 in my group) have been waking up 7 every morning and going home at 5:30 just to be able to gain the knowledge and the technique so that they can voluntarily go and change other young people's lives. Now this is dedication. This is the type of young people that I love to surround myself with.

Sharing some laughs!!! :)

 We are training this group of youth to be peer educators specializing in family relations. So after 40 hours of training this group will get their certificates from the UNFPA and will then start going off in groups of two or three and start holding sessions for youth all over Erbil. 

Somethings in life are priceless, like this smile!

The greatest thing about this project is that often young people get a chance to talk and express; to speak of their thoughts and express their emotions. I often get a true insight into their lives, their confrontations, challenges and also their plans for the future.

Know this face well, she's Kurdistan's future leader!

This is Kurdistan, and this is the Erbil that I live in today!!