Erbil, KRI (December 5, 2022) - Rwanga Foundation held the final ceremony of the 'Youth Volunteers Initiative’ Project to recognize the twenty-four volunteer groups who implemented their voluntary projects all over Iraq.

The project was announced on 13/4/2022, and the youth had a duration of 78 days to submit their initiatives, then the initiatives were evaluated by a specialized committee and 24 projects were selected as winning projects. The winning volunteer groups received financial support from Rwanga Foundation to implement their projects.

Winner groups of the year 2022:

​·         (The Female Saints) Volunteer Group conducted (For Her) Project
The group consists of (5) female volunteers specialized in (law, mental health, and social research) in Wasit, the team targeted campaigns to raise women's awareness, establish an awareness clinic, target female schools, raising awareness of women's rights, which includes protection from domestic violence and methods of protection from extortion, working on awareness campaigns related to mental health, especially cases of depression leading to suicide.
Provided Fund: 2,000,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 5700

·         (Rangala) Volunteer Group conducted (We Love Animals) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, the volunteer group painted a number of children’s paintings on the walls of a number of schools in Sulaimani to raise children's awareness of how to help animals and not hurt them.
Provided Fund: 4,120,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 12701

·         (Children's Environmental Education) Volunteer Group conducted (Children are the Futuristic Environment keepers) Project
The group consists of (11) volunteers, In order to create and develop a generation of environmentalists, the volunteer group published an educational book for children and distributed them to students in Sulaimani schools in order to spread environmental awareness among students.
Provided Fund: 4,248,500 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 3000

·         (Harmony) Volunteer Group conducted (People with Creativity) Project
The group consists of (7) volunteers, the project was to establish a peaceful and pleasant environment to develop the technical expertise of children with disabilities at the ‘happy childhood' Institute in Nineveh by dedicating a room inside the institution and organizing and buying the necessary equipment to become a drawing, music and a happy place room for children with disabilities.
Provided Fund: 4,135,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 434

·         (Athar Taib) Volunteer Group conducted (Relief for the Vulnerable) Project
The group consists of (10) volunteers, the project aimed to provide the necessary awareness for vulnerable groups and help people with disabilities in the region. Among the activities that have been accomplished are protecting the lives of children from the damage of high-pressure wires by providing the necessary awareness, trying to provide the service of registering people with disabilities as a result of electric shocks in the Social Protection Welfare Department, Providing community health awareness and treatment services for cases of infectious skin diseases, Children are enrolled in the accelerated education program to ensure their rights of education.
Provided Fund: 4,243,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 1200

·         (Blue Hands) Volunteer Group conducted (Schools Empty of Drug Abusing) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, this project aimed to create a drug-free school environment with methods and mechanisms for referring students who use drugs to obtain help from the centers and clinics specialized in the treatment of addiction available in Muthanna governorate.
Provided Fund: 4,000,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 165

·         (CoderDojo Iraq) Volunteer Group conducted (Supporting the Next Digital Makers in Maysan) Project
The group consists of (8) volunteers, this project aimed to provide access to technology for vulnerable communities. By implementing (micro:bit) which is a pocket-sized programmable computer for ages 10 & up, featuring motion sensing, a built-in compass, LED display and Bluetooth technology.
Provided Fund: 4,000,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 100

·         (For Better Health) Volunteer Group conducted (Protecting the Youth from the White Terror) Project
The group consists of (12) volunteers, the project aimed to raise the awareness of young people about the harms of drugs, lowering the rate of suicide due to drugs and returning the spirit of working with groups among the youth.
Provided Fund: 4,133,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 2000

·         (Borrowing Web) Volunteer Group conducted (Borrowing Web) Project
The group consists of (7) volunteers, the aim of the project was to provide a free paper lending library for readers in Karbala that can be easily accessed through a mobile application, providing a delivery service to facilitate access to paper books for groups that face a problem with that inside Karbala, such as women and students, creating a network and access database in order to be employed in voluntary and collaborative work later, and also promoting the cultural movement and supporting reading in the province.

Provided Fund: 4,541,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 118

(Hiwa)Volunteer Group conducted (Their Smile is Hope) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, the aim of the project was to provide a basic renovation of the Ahmad Awa Primary School in the village of Ahmad Awa to provide a suitable environment for students in the village and surrounding villages who study in the same school. Encouraging children to pay more attention to the environment and not use plastic materials through paintings on the walls, culturalizing reading by providing libraries and educational books for the new academic year.
Provided Fund: 4,240,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 183

·         (Halo) Volunteer Group conducted (Everybody's Safety) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, the project was to give awareness of water dangers of Great Zab river to the citizens, especially to identify dangerous swimming locations, by placing a warning board in those places.

Provided Fund: 2,200,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 10000

·         (Better Kurdistan) Volunteer Group conducted (Power of 3R ) Project
The group consists of (15) volunteers, the project aimed to provide a clean environment, bringing improvements, having a bright future for a new and better generation and a good source of Economy, by providing workshops and other activities for five elementary and hi schools in Semel district, each school will be provided with wastebaskets for recycling purposes.
Provided Fund: 2,132,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 2500

·         (Bu Jin) Volunteer Group conducted (The Beautification of the Historical Akre Neighborhoods) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, the project aimed to renovate the very old neighborhoods in Akre, such as (Chustaya, Gorahva, Mazringan), through activities such as cleaning the facades of houses, making the walls more beautiful by painting them, and providing colorful flowers, while keeping the originality of the neighborhoods.
Provided Fund: 4,234,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 480

·         (Shahraban Humanitarians) Volunteer Group conducted (Shahraban Humanitarians) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, the project aimed to develop a culture of afforestation and preserve rivers from pollution among the youth of Muqdadiya, developing a spirit of teamwork and a sense of responsibility, by launching a campaign on the social media platforms to gather young people to clean the river from pollutants and start a campaign to afforestation the by planting 500 seedlings along the river to reduce pollution, desertification and to purify the atmosphere and to add beauty to the region.
Provided Fund: 3,150,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 1500

·        ( Kudia) Volunteer Group conducted (Beautification and Restoration of the Children's Hall
in the Center of Blood Thalassemia) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, the project aimed to provide the basic restoration of the "Children's Hall" in the Thalassemia Blood Center, and to add some furnitures such as (chairs, lighting, curtains...) that do not exist, and to paint the walls with colors that are comfortable for the viewer in order to reduce the psychological pressure the children are going through, adding some games for the children
Provided Fund: 4,236,500 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 512

·         (Saqshakhiyoon) Volunteer Group conducted (Our Mother School) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, the project aimed to provide the basic restoration of the ‘Alsuq’ primary school in the ‘Sheikh Alsuq’, to prepare some basic repairs for the school, and to initiate more attention to the school by the concerned institutions, to establish voluntary development from within the school to maintain its requirements, also to encourage the students and teachers to take care of the school.
Provided Fund: 4,200,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 400

·         (Athar) Volunteer Group conducted (Friendly Spaces for Autistic Children) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, this project aimed to provide psychosocial support to 80 autistic people to improve their learning outcomes and integrate them into society, creating a balance between the rights and duties of community members, developing a child with autism, and integrating them with society.
Provided Fund: 4,240,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 115

·         (PIXEL Media) Volunteer Group conducted (PIXEL Youth) Project
The group consists of (6) volunteers, the project aimed to develop the students' technological capabilities and their use of social media and to create a successful media community. Three workshops were provided and given to the members of the Pixel media team, and for each workshop a specific specialty, local trainers were provided to present it, and the workshops included the following topics (graphic design and its basics, montage and video editing, photography and the use of equipment)
Provided Fund: 3,395,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 2500

·         (Our New Iraq Gathering) Volunteer Group conducted (A Decent Life) Project
The group consists of (5) volunteers, the aim of the project was to integrate people with special needs with the society and enjoy their rights, also creating 10 lanes for people with disabilities to cross from street sidewalks.
Provided Fund: 4,210,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 5000

·         (Al-Ruiya) Volunteer Group conducted (Peace Brings Us Together) Project
The group consists of (8) volunteers, this project aimed to empower the ability of 25 young men from Babil Governorate between the ages of 18-30 years in the skill of negotiation and solving social problems, empowering young people with the concepts of peacebuilding and the renunciation of violence, providing valuable information about the ideological presence and the plurality of religions in the Iraqi society historically and with percentages from the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, enabling young people to use peace-building skills in planning and implementing small projects on the ground, strengthening the spirit of citizenship among the Iraqi people through media publishing and distributing brochures, communicating the concepts of freedom of religion, belief, and respect.
Provided Fund: 3,000,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 245

·         (Al-Amal)Volunteer Group conducted (Fingerprint of Hope) Project
The group consists of (8) volunteers, this project aimed to paint the walls of the school from the inside and outside, draw some paintings on the walls, and place warning signs and drawings to make the students happy and increase their joy in the new academic year.
Provided Fund: 4,250,000 IQD 

Total beneficiaries: 1450

·         (Charity Workers) Volunteer Group conducted (Raising Awareness Among Young People about
the Dangers and Harms of Drugs) Project
The group consists of (30) volunteers, this project aimed to raise awareness of drug practices among young people (males and females) between the ages of 15-45 years, by spreading awareness through posters, distributing flyers, and targeting places where young people gather.
Provided Fund: 3,840,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 8806

·         (Sports School for Development and Education)Volunteer Group conducted (Peace for the Sake of Peace) Project
The group consists of (7) volunteers, this project is to strengthen educational institutions in Al-Anbar and involve them in promoting peace within the school community to spread the values of societal tolerance and build community cohesion and peaceful coexistence for individuals. Teaching the teacher how to use modern social media that has become an urgent necessity in conveying information to students.
Provided Fund: 4,000,000 IQD

Total beneficiaries: 100

 The evaluation committee of YVI 2022:

​1.       Dastan Qadir Abduallah – CEO at Women Empowerment Organization

2.       Abdulbasit Ahmed – Project Manager at Internews

3.       Talar Noore – Operation Director at Mediazan (Media Agency)

Youth Volunteers Initiative is an annual project of the Rwanga Foundation that started in 2018, the project is implemented all over Iraq with the aim of supporting young volunteers to come up with project proposals and participate in a competition to implement their projects for the best benefit of the public. The project asks the volunteer groups to apply their project proposals to get funds for their projects. Each year 24 groups are funded to implement projects in their community. since 2018, 70 projects were funded and 226,951,500 Iraqi dinars were dedicated to funding the projects. 646 volunteers participated in the project, and 164,507 people benefited from the voluntary project.