Outreach Services for Rural Areas

During the so-called „Anfal“ campaign, Iraqi military forces destroyed more than 2000 villages. Tens of thousands of people living on the countryside were killed or disappeared, got deported to resettlement camps or had to flee from their homes. Until today the rural areas are unlike poorer than the big cities. Having been neglected for many years they lack infrastructure and employment opportunities and can therefore not benefit from the increase in prosperity that marks the metropolitan areas.

Mobile outreach teams proved to be one of the rare means to reach victims of human rights violations and their children who live on the countryside. Many of these victims live in poverty and have no access to professional health services or educational opportunities. Especially female survivors of human rights violations and their children are often unable to reach the cities to seek help and obtain rehabilitation.

Mobile Teams in Kirkuk, Erbil and Chamchamal

In order to support these victims, the Kirkuk Center has established mobile health teams, which give torture survivors living in small towns and rural areas a chance to receive professional treatment for the first time.

Since 2009, the Kirkuk Mobile Team serves the areas of Qerehencir, Shwan, Hesar, Pirde, and Penja Ali. In May 2010, the Erbil Center started to regularly visit the small cities of Bineslawe and Pirzeen. Since November 2011, a mobile team of the Chamchamal Center reaches out to women in Tekye. These towns are located around Kirkuk,  Erbil and Chamchamal and have an average population of less than 75,000 each. The staff of the mobile teams rotates through these towns, offering outpatient services in close cooperation with local health institutions.

Our experience in working in the countryside around Kirkuk shows that the need for mobile outreach services is enormous. Between June 2009 and December 2011, our Mobile Team in Kirkuk has been able to help more than 1,400 clients of which about 30% were women and 40% were children. Most of these patients had never been treated for their psychological and social problems before.

Further Information

To learn more about the program and ways to help, please contact Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist gegen Spambots geschützt! JavaScript muss aktiviert werden, damit sie angezeigt werden kann. .