Tens of thousands of Yazidis were displaced by the Islamic State in 2014 – thousands more suffered even worse. The refugees are still unable to return to their original homeland of Shingal (Sinjar); it is still too dangerous there, and there are hardly any opportunities to build a new existence.
Not all of these displaced Yazidis live in official refugee camps. Many families have settled somewhere, in tents, discarded residential trailers, in unfinished buildings or the simplest rented apartments, … Since they are not registered as refugees in the camps, they also receive no support from the UN refugee organizations. We have been supporting many of these families for eight years.
Basically we do not intend to provide the families with the necessary food for many years. Rather, we want to help them become independent of us and eventually become self-sufficient. Now we are trying this on a trial basis with a new project:
A few weeks ago, five Yazidi families received 20 young turkeys each. These are fed, well cared for and should be sold for profit in late fall. The profits are reinvested: Next spring, new young turkeys will be purchased. To purchase the animals, the families received a loan that is to be repaid within three years. If all goes according to plan, the families will have generated enough money to continue the program on their own.
We are curious to see if it works.
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