What do we do?
Play Bus
The Play Bus is not your typical fun-filled ride; it's a visionary education and therapy-based project meticulously crafted for the budding minds of our communities in the Kurdistan region. Imagine a bus brimming with various engaging games and activities, spearheaded by dedicated supervisors, trained as adept social workers, driving towards a brighter future for our children.
Introduction
Seven years ago, Wadi Organization and Adwi established a new experimental project called the Play Bus. What came to be one of our main and most important long-term projects. that covered three areas (Rania, Garmian, Erbil)
a team of two dedicated social workers driving to remote villages with a bus full of games and activities.
At the beginning, it started as a fun escape for unprivileged children. Then slowly changed shape to a children’s therapy and awareness combined with games and puzzles. This constant change helped us shape this program into a puzzle piece that completes a bigger picture: the Community.
As our area of work developed through the years, so did our Activates adapt.
The play bus always looks still and unchanged. A small van carrying different games for different ages; each game tackling different brain activity. However, each time, this bus carries a different message. But how so?
In the middle of playing, we stop the music and gather the kids for a little rest time. During which we slowly open the intended subjects with them. Sometimes we talk about violence. We ask them about the term and what they think it means. Then, for a long time, we focus on one subject until we know, every kid in each remote village of the targeted area knows what violence against children is. This might take years to achieve.
Importance of play time in children's lives
Playtime is not just a luxury for children; it’s a fundamental aspect of their development. From fostering creativity to enhancing social skills, the benefits of play are undeniable. In today’s fast-paced world, where academic and extracurricular pressures can dominate a child’s schedule, it’s crucial to recognize the essential role that playtime plays in their overall well-being.
During play, children engage in activities that stimulate their imagination and curiosity. Whether they’re building forts with blankets or pretending to be pirates on a backyard adventure, play allows them to explore new ideas and scenarios in a safe and unstructured environment. This freedom to experiment and make mistakes is vital for their cognitive development and problem-solving skills.
Moreover, play provides opportunities for children to interact with their peers, and learn important social skills such as cooperation, negotiation, and conflict resolution. Through collaborative play, they develop empathy and understanding, laying the foundation for healthy relationships in the future.
Physical play, such as running, jumping, and climbing, is equally crucial for children’s physical health and development. It strengthens their muscles, improves coordination, and promotes overall fitness. In a world where sedentary activities, such as screen time, are increasingly prevalent, encouraging children to engage in active play is crucial for combating childhood obesity and fostering lifelong habits of physical activity.
Playtime is not just a luxury for children; it’s a fundamental aspect of their development. From fostering creativity to enhancing social skills, the benefits of play are undeniable. In today’s fast-paced world, where academic and extracurricular pressures can dominate a child’s schedule, it’s crucial to recognize the essential role that playtime plays in their overall well-being.
During play, children engage in activities that stimulate their imagination and curiosity. Whether they’re building forts with blankets or pretending to be pirates on a backyard adventure, play allows them to explore new ideas and scenarios in a safe and unstructured environment. This freedom to experiment and make mistakes is vital for their cognitive development and problem-solving skills.
Moreover, play provides opportunities for children to interact with their peers, and learn important social skills such as cooperation, negotiation, and conflict resolution. Through collaborative play, they develop empathy and understanding, laying the foundation for healthy relationships in the future.
Physical play, such as running, jumping, and climbing, is equally crucial for children’s physical health and development. It strengthens their muscles, improves coordination, and promotes overall fitness. In a world where sedentary activities, such as screen time, are increasingly prevalent, encouraging children to engage in active play is crucial for combating childhood obesity and fostering lifelong habits of physical activity.
In essence, playtime is not just a break from learning; it’s an integral part of the learning process itself. By providing children with ample play opportunities, we empower them to explore, discover, and grow in ways that transcend the confines of the classroom. As caregivers, educators, and advocates for children’s rights, it’s our responsibility to prioritize and protect their right to play. After all, in the world of childhood, play isn’t just fun, it’s serious business.
This project was funded by Wadi
"Crisis assistance and solidarity"
Keep Kurdistan Green
Keep Kurdistan green (KKG), in addition to cleaning campaigns and tree planting. It was more about planting an idea! The notion that the environment should be everyone’s essential concern. The understanding that our environment significantly influences the quality of our lives, both physically and mentally.
Keep Kurdistan green (KKG) first started as a campaign in Halabja called (Green city Halabja), the campaign birthed a wider project (KKG) that covered Rania, Erbil, and Garmian.
essentaly the project began with awareness seminars in schools, then expanded to homes, hospitals, and every institution we could reach. In these seminars, a team of two, a social worker and a lawyer, would create conversations and share ideas regarding the environment. The seminars are crafted to the needs of the audience and the state of the area.
In schools, the teams would often talk about the essentials of environmental protection and the components of nature to the students. This is an important stage in the long-term process, because these young students will be the next generation who could potentially save or destroy the planet, but not on our watch!
In addition to schools, Keep Kurdistan green covers remote villages and areas that suffer from drought, factories, and waste management. The teams visit villages and speak with the inhabitants. Scout the area to see what environmental problems they are facing. Then, craft campaigns, raise awareness, and involve authorities if needed.
alongside occasional tree planting for schools and river cleaning.
Active Citizenship
Citizenship is the relationship between the individuals, society, and the state. It includes the rights and responsibilities exchanged within this relationship. It carries a Legal and sociological dimension, determining one’s role and place in society. We support collaboration between local organizations, community members, activists, and municipalities to find locally-driven solutions to community challenges.
Citizenship is a two-year project that started in 2024, with seven partner organizations each working on a different aspect, and Wadi as a mediator. The project has six pillars. Environment, Schools, GBV & FGM, Media, Public Health, and Legal Rights.
Adwi is one of the partner organizations that focuses on enhancing the relationship between schools, universities, and municipalities.
Adwi’s Previous projects focused on awareness raising. In Citizenship, we teach members of society to take action based on that awareness. and we show them how, through capacity-building training, media campaigns in cooperation with other partners, and monthly panels at universities.
Read More
- ADWI Roundtable Discussion on Child Rights and FGM in RanyaOpens in a new tab
- 8th of March: A Difficult International Women’s Day for IraqOpens in a new tab
- ADWI and Gasha Technical Institute Host Panel Discussion on Beauty Standards and Health for International Women’s DayOpens in a new tab
- Earth day - PanelOpens in a new tab
No To Violence
This project aims to build a safer and more harmonious community. to combat all forms of violence, focusing on fostering safe environments in schools, learning centers, villages, and local communities. This project aims to build a safer and more harmonious community. to combat all forms of violence, focusing on fostering safe environments in schools, learning centers, villages, and local communities. We envision a world where every individual, regardless of age, gender, or background, can live without fear of violence. Our commitment is to create spaces where education flourishes and communities thrive.
The primary focus of the (No to Violence) campaign is to enhance relationships, starting with the crucial bond between teachers and students and extending to the dynamics between parents and children. By fortifying these connections, we aim to lay the foundation for a society where conflicts are resolved through dialogue and understanding rather than resorting to violence in the face of adversity. Since its inception, the "No to Violence" campaign has garnered significant attention and support, reflecting the urgent need for initiatives that address the root causes of violence in our educational institutions and broader communities.
Our Strategy
Just like mold that grows in moisture, Violence is a deep-rooted instinct that grows in its environment and dims in an alternative one. This change in environment takes decades if not centuries. The journey embarked on in 2017, now in 2023, after six years of working non-stop with teachers and parents. We can slowly see the impact. Adw’s teams select their target for change very precisely. They watch over the school and interact with the students. Trying to pinpoint the issues and start working on them. The teams would select a school and constantly visit it until they formed a close enough relationship with the committee to make a change. Eventually, the school is declared free of violence. In the past six years, 13 schools have been declared free of violence, as well as 15 villages. The methods vary from one school to another. Generally, the teams tackle the issue slowly and indirectly. With group activities, plays, videos, seminars, and so on. As for the teacher and parents, a more direct approach is used. The campaign also includes providing stationery and necessities for some schools. We are intervening in tribal issues related to students and teachers, or helping students facing violence. Emotionally or legally.
Challenges
Working closely with citizens, we often face many different ideologies, religions, and traditions. This comes with a set of challenges. -Trust, when visiting a school for the first time, it is very hard for them to talk about the issues, fearing that we might be press or from the government. It was a challenge to repair the damaged relationship between public institutes and authorities. Tribal danger, when interfering in student issues, the tribe or family (which are often the cause of the issue) may feel threatened or betrayed when a third party intervenes. This can call for unwanted threats and damage. Therefore, the teams have to be extra careful.
"390 beneficiaries, from students to parents and teachers, in a span of a year"
This project was funded by Wadi
"Crisis assistance and solidarity"
"LIVING WITH FGM"
In the pursuit of eradicating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) across the Kurdistan region, ADWI Organization, with the supervision of WADI, a German organization.
Deployed a strategic campaign facilitated by three specialized teams. Each team consists of a lawyer and a social worker strategically positioned in key areas such as Erbil, Rania, Halabja, Garmyan, and Duhok. These dedicated teams regularly visit remote rural villages, addressing the social and legal dimensions of FGM.
Social workers focus on community engagement, emphasizing the societal repercussions of FGM and raising awareness about its physical and psychological impacts. Concurrently, legal teams provide education on the criminal nature of FGM, working to dismantle deeply ingrained cultural norms.
After Wadi’s long-term work on addressing FGM as a Social and Legal Issue. ADWI continued the campaign; however, this time it focused on victims who are already affected by FGM.”Living with FGM Program.”
which aims to support individuals who have already undergone FGM, addressing their physical and psychological needs.
The program reflects ADWI’s understanding of the enduring
impact of FGM, recognizing that eradication requires not only prevention efforts but also dedicated support for those affected.
Read More
This project was funded by Wadi
"Crisis assistance and solidarity"
Green Garmian
In 2022, Adwi, Rang, and Wadi organization established the first stepping stones for the first local Recycling center in Kifri District – Garmian. Kfri was suffering from plastic waste more and more. With no proper waste management and the government’s neglect of this area, the situation wasn’t getting any better.
Adwi’s experience from the (Keep Kurdistan Green) campaign in this area paved the way for this center to thrive. The partner schools from KKG project and remote villages with a waste sorting problem were granted waste sorting bins. The waste was then collected monthly via a network of tuk-tuk drivers, then delivered to the centers.
In the recycling center, plastic waste is sorted, cleaned, and then either pressed and sold to bigger factories where the plastic is recycled. or shredded and melted into locally made molds.
In addition to recycling, the Green Garmian Project was also an awareness center. Every time a cage was placed somewhere, the teams would inform people about recycling and waste sorting. raising awareness of the new solutions to the environmental crisis.
Sustainable Agriculture
In the heart of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in Garmian’s wide lands. Farmers have long relied on plastic in agriculture to compete in an increasingly demanding market. Yet, many were unaware of the long-term environmental and health risks this practice posed. Many of them are illiterate and can not look for information, or haven’t been exposed to the facts.
In light of these issues, the Adwi Organization, with the support of (PIN People In Need development cooperation, launched a series of awareness seminars to educate farmers on the hidden dangers of plastic and pesticide overuse. Alongside building a network of farmers and plastic recycling companies. To try to tackle the problem at the root.
Through a three-month-long project “Strengthening Resilience Among Vulnerable Communities of Kurdistan Region of Iraq Facing Waste Management and Climate Change Challenges,” For the first time, many farmers heard about the direct link between plastic pollution and severe health risks, including cancer.
Through seminars and hands-on engagement, Adwi uncovered a widespread knowledge gap. Farmers were using ultra-thin plastic materials that disintegrate in just six months, embedding in soil and making removal nearly impossible. This was damaging the soil in an irreparable way. Leaving the landlords with marginal land. And the farmers with damaged crops.
The excessive pesticides were killing the biosystem and posing a great risk to farmers’ and consumers’ health.
No one was wining!
Challenges
The severe drought in Garmian added another layer of complexity. The economic strain caused by water shortages pushed farmers to rely more heavily on plastic and chemical-based farming methods to maintain productivity. While the project could not directly address the drought, it connected farmers with local authorities to explore sustainable farming techniques and alternative water management strategies.
Another challenge was the limited availability of meeting spaces. Finding large venues capable of accommodating all the farmers for the seminars proved difficult in the early stages. This issue was resolved with the support of the Agriculture Department, which provided access to government facilities, ensuring that awareness sessions could be held in suitable spaces.
Lastly, the project encountered a communication gap between farmers and government authorities. Farmers rarely approached authorities for support due to a lack of trust, while authorities assumed that farmers were self-sufficient. Adwi played a crucial role in bridging this.
In just three months, the project reached (233)farmers and achieved several milestones:
- Land lease agreements revised: Kurdish landowners now require Arab farmers to return leased land free of plastic pollution.
- Plastic waste collection commitment: Arab farmers pledged to gather and properly dispose of plastic monthly at recycling centers.
- Government collaboration strengthened: The Agriculture Department committed to assisting farmers with soil testing and offering solutions to reduce chemical use.
- Community connections established: Farmers were linked with local tuk-tuk drivers and recycling centers to facilitate waste collection.
These efforts were amplified through media coverage from outlets like
kirkuk news – Titled (Awareness attempts against using nylon in farming)
to leave a lasting impact, ADWI provided wood-free, environmentally friendly leaflet. That answered all the important questions like:
What is waste management? Why is it important for farmers?
What are the waste management techniques?
What is greenhouse gas? And how do we manage it?
Lasting Impact and Lessons Learned
The project’s influence extended beyond immediate awareness. Farmers showed genuine eagerness to change their practices once they understood the risks, even modifying land lease agreements to enforce plastic waste removal. The project also fostered a broad network of stakeholders, including media, recycling centers, government agencies, and local suppliers, laying the foundation for long-term environmental sustainability.
The key lessons from the project highlight that awareness drives action, as farmers are willing to change once they are equipped with knowledge and practical solutions. Timing is equally important, as aligning future projects with the farming calendar will maximize their effectiveness. Bridging communication gaps between farmers and authorities is essential, as building trust enables the development of long-term solutions.
Finally, sustained engagement remains crucial, requiring continuous follow-ups, educational campaigns, and media outreach to ensure that positive changes take root and last over time.
Adwi’s work demonstrates that even in the face of climate change and waste management challenges, knowledge and collaboration can drive meaningful transformation. By connecting farmers with solutions, authorities, and each other, the organization is planting the seeds for a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable farming future in the Kurdistan Region.
