From Survival To Development

Sondus, 16 years old, regularly attends classes in a non-formal education center in Talafar district, Ninewa governorate, Iraq, supported by UNICEF with funding from the EU’s humanitarian aid.  

"We had to leave our home. I did not go to school for four years”, she says, adding proudly that after attending the Accelerated Learning Programme, she skipped several levels. “I'm feeling good here as I can achieve my dreams. I want to be independent, I don’t want anyone to say ‘I made this for you’, I can do anything myself and I want to become a doctor”, she says with a determined look. 

Sondus is a good student and actively participates in the life of her community. She’s currently being trained on how to use the U-Report platform to collect feedback from youth in the community and develop initiatives to improve their daily lives.  

“Our community can be tough, especially for women. The training has helped me to develop my skills, gain confidence in myself, and master my communication skills with others; all of that was a major turning point in my life”. 

“In the past, I never thought about the future, we all focused on staying alive and surviving. Now, I have gone from a survival mode to a development mode”, she adds.  

UNICEF and the EU are working together to support the Government of Iraq in reaching children and adolescents with the aim to identify out-of-school children and modalities for their return to school.