Joint efforts build lasting opportunities for refugees, displaced families and host communities

ERBIL, Iraq – When Fadila fled from Kobani, in North-East Syria, to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2013, she had to rebuild her life from the ground up. Despite holding a nursing diploma and having work experience, she struggled to find employment. As the main provider for her family, she turned to another skill and opened a small salon, while managing the household and caring for her two sons, Mohammed, 15, and Lavan, 11.

With support from the PROSPECTS partners, Fadila gradually transformed that modest start into a growing business. Three loans enabled her to expand the salon and open a second branch, generating income for her children’s education, the household’s needs and the family’s future. “Little by little, things started going well,” she says. 

Now, she is already developing her next business idea.

Beyond supporting livelihoods, the PROSPECTS partnership is also creating opportunities for young people to develop their skills, contribute to their communities and pursue their ambitions. In Shaqlawa, a town in Erbil Governorate, 16-year-old Barwa has been volunteering with the Hasar Organisation for nearly two years. 

Founded in 2019, the Hasar Organisation is a non-profit civil society group whose work focuses on climate resilience, reforestation, and water scarcity. Barwa contributes photographs, artwork and projects—many created from recycled materials—that spark conversations among peers about education and the environment. Through these creations, Barwa is also pursuing a larger ambition: to showcase the natural beauty of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to the world.

PROSPECTS partners support Hasar Organisation in equipping young people with skills and connecting them to further training, employment, and access-to-finance opportunities.

“I have become more aware, more responsible and more confident,” Barwa says. This growth shows in how the young volunteer engages with peers, shares creative work, and encourages others to pursue their own ideas. “Many young people have talents, but they do not have the chance to show them,” Barwa says. “These opportunities matter because young people have the ability.”

For Wajid, 25, from Shekhan, a town in the Dohuk governorate, volunteering means turning commitment into practical action. Since joining the Hasar Organisation in 2023, he has planted trees, cleaned public spaces and participated in environmental activities and events. He also founded and leads Yazidi Pioneer, an initiative that helps young people practise English, write CVs, prepare for interviews, and develop leadership skills—equipping them to pursue employment and other opportunities.

PROSPECTS partners met Fadila, Barwa, and Wajid during a field visit following a two-day Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) session in Erbil. The visit brought the discussions on results and future priorities to life, showing how the partnership’s work is making a difference in people’s daily lives.

Learning and adapting together

Led by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the PROSPECTS partnership brings together the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), UNHCR, UNICEF and the World Bank. Since 2019, the PROSPECTS partners have worked alongside government institutions and local organisations across Iraq to expand access to education, protection, essential services, skills and livelihoods for refugees, internally displaced people, returnees and host communities.

During the two-day MEL session, representatives of government institutions, partner organisations and UN agencies reviewed progress, shared lessons and identified where stronger collective action could deliver better results as the programme moves forward.

Representatives of government institutions, partner organisations and UN agencies review progress and lessons during the two-day PROSPECTS Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning session in Erbil.

For Lilly Carlisle of UNHCR, the MEL session showed how each agency supports the inclusion of refugees and other forcibly displaced populations. “It is about more than tracking indicators,” she says. “It helps us see how, together, we are creating real change for refugees in Iraq.”

Bashar Elsamarneh, ILO’s PROSPECTS project manager in Iraq, said that reflecting together helps partners tackle linked challenges and improve their work. “We cannot work alone,” he says. “Each agency has a different mandate, so we need a shared approach.”

The session also helped partners decide what to change, expand or focus on. Aimilios Chatzinikolaou, representing the World Bank Group, described it as a chance to share knowledge and develop ideas. “It helps us avoid duplication and build momentum for collective action,” he says.

For the Netherlands, which leads the partnership, adaptation is essential as the needs of forcibly displaced people and host communities change. Rawand Al-Salihi, Program and Policy Officer at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Iraq, said, “Learning must go beyond lists of activities and results. What matters is the difference the programme makes in people’s daily lives”.

Elza van Dijk, Senior Policy Officer on forced displacement at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, said the discussions helped partners review achievements, lessons and needed changes. “Partners can learn from one another,” she says, “so we can better support displaced people, host communities and the Government of Iraq.”

Turning lessons into results

Across Iraq, PROSPECTS partners, working with government institutions and local partners, have helped children access and continue education, trained teachers, strengthened young people’s vocational and business skills, supported pathways to employment and livelihoods, improved access to clean water, and provided legal, protection and mental health support.

Laetitia Bazzi, UNICEF Iraq’s Deputy Representative, said the session gave partners time to review results and agree on priorities. “We came together to share results, challenges and lessons,” she says. “The discussion helps us build consensus on what we need to do together for children and young people.”

For Fadila, the partnership means opening her salon each day, earning a living and supporting her children. For Barwa, it means using photography and recycled art to inspire other young people to share their talents. For Wajid, it means planting trees, improving public spaces and helping young people prepare for employment. Together, their stories show what partnership can make possible: greater stability for families, a stronger voice for young people and more opportunities to learn, contribute and shape their own futures.

The Government of the Netherlands is supporting PROSPECT partners in delivering assistance to refugees, displaced families and host communities across Iraq,