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http://www.madre.org/page/your-support-in-action-175/news/women-peace-farm-shelters-and-empowers-iraqi-families-992.html

 

Iraq - Women's Peace Farm Shelters Displaced Women Farmers & Their Families

February 2, 2015 - Displaced by extremist violence, women-headed households are now flooding central and southern Iraq. They need humanitarian aid, shelter and resources to rebuild their lives. With MADRE, our local partner, the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), is meeting these urgent and long-term needs.

The Women's Peace Farm is a way for displaced women farmers to achieve self-sufficiency and provide for their families. What's more, they support one another through the crisis of war.

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Yanar Mohammed (center), President of OWFI, in the Peace Farm's greenhouse.

This project also alleviates the need for factory-farmed food aid. This enables women farmers to remain independent and strengthens their sense of personal agency and resiliency.

Near the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, OWFI secured a tract of land to start the Women's Peace Farm. Together, we purchased 5 caravans and equipped them with basic appliances. These provide shelter to 54 people (mainly women and children). OWFI also provides food for women and their families on a daily basis and covers their minimal living expenses such as transportation to the clinic and doctor fees.

Now, thanks to support from MADRE members, the farm is thriving. Already, the women have raised eggplants, peppers, okra and cucumbers. And just last week, we heard from our partners that a new crop of tomatoes was coming in!

The Women's Peace Farm is an innovative answer to the crisis of war, displacement, and violence impacting Iraqi wome

 

 

http://www.madre.org/page/your-support-in-action-175/news/stories-from-the-womens-peace-farm-1009.html

 

Iraq - Stories from the Women’s Peace Farm

June 10, 2015 - With your support, MADRE and the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) created the Women’s Peace Farm, a shelter for women and families displaced by extremist ISIS violence. At the Peace Farm, women and the children in their care find safe haven. Not only that, they are growing food, earning income and beginning to rebuild their lives.

In a recent conversation with our OWFI activist partners, including director Yanar Mohammed, they shared with us stories and pictures from the Peace Farm.

We’d like to share a few with you now.

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Here’s Yanar with a baby girl born at the Peace Farm. Her mother, Reemah*, arrived at the farm pregnant and alone, after fleeing ISIS violence with only the clothes on her back. The other women at the farm quickly rallied to support her, buying small goods, baby clothes and presents with some money they pooled together.

Today, both mother and baby are healthy and safe, and are benefiting from the community of support they’ve found on the farm. Reemah has found comfort in the new friends she’s made. And she’s growing food and earning income to support her daughter. She didn’t think she’d ever feel safe again after the violence she escaped, but slowly, Reemah is rebuilding a peaceful life.

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Here’s an OWFI staff member with three young girls living at the Peace Farm. One of these young girls is named Asma*. She and her mother escaped from northern Iraq after her family was targeted with deadly ISIS violence. She’s been living at the Farm for a few months. At just 9 years old, Asma has already been through a tremendous amount. But despite the hardships she’s endured, she remains positive, happy and healthy.

What’s more, she’s already an impressive community organizer! Asma goes around the farm asking the other children living there if they have any needs, from socks to books to clothes. She makes a list to share with OWFI staff members and follows up to make sure that the children’s needs are met. Asma is thriving as a budding community organizer. And OWFI is so glad to have Asma, a young activist in the making, advocating for the children at the farm!

Our partners describe the farm as an oasis of hope, where families like Reemah’s and Asma’s can regain the sense of security and safety they’ve lost. The women living at the farm, they say, are united and resilient. The Peace Farm is a true community of support for women and families who have lost everything.