Location: Iraq

Imagine having to run away and leave everything you’ve ever known, risking it all for a chance at a new life. This is the reality for countless migrants and refugees fleeing violence. This World Refugee Day, we honor their bravery and resilience by highlighting their stories. Hawar, Search’s Iraq Jobs…

In a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Iraq, many parents struggle to meet their children’s basic needs. When emergency situations become long-term displacement, relief aid funding dries up, and people have to fend for themselves. We met Khernof, a widow with four children, in an IDP camp…

Nadima’s vision was so clear, she could imagine every element. She dreamed of opening a glamorous salon for women. The interior would be spacious and clean; painted a chic charcoal grey with mirrors and trim details picked out in gold. It would be a comfortable space for women to get…

As Shkeb walks through the camp, he is filled with pride and thanks because he knows how far this community has come over the last nine years. Until recently, Shkeb had to travel far outside the camp to purchase basic necessities for his family, which ate up more time and…

Bayan’s new sewing business in Sinjar buzzes with energy: sewing machines humming, scissors cutting, people chatting, filling the air with warmth and heart. Her customers travel from all across the area for her beautifully crafted ceremonial dresses. Bayan’s shop is not just a business to support her family but a…

Humanitarian aid organizations often talk about knowledge sharing as a way to build capacity. For those of us who don’t work in the humanitarian aid space, these terms seem fancy and vague. As donors, we want to know that our contributions supporting projects that reflect our values, are sustainable, and…

Talal, in his element in his nursery, the first one in Mosul’s Old City. Photo by Lojain Alsaffar for Preemptive Love.  Sunlight dapples the green leaves, washing them a translucent yellow-gold. Looking around Talal’s plant nursery, it’s hard to believe that a few short years ago, this plot of land…

Sunlight dapples the green leaves, washing them a translucent yellow-gold. Looking around Talal’s plant nursery, it’s hard to believe that a few short years ago, this plot of land in Mosul’s Old City was a barren dump full of war debris. People often know what they need. They need just…

You and your family run from ISIS and hide on a mountaintop. From there, you cross countries and end up living in an unfinished building far from home for six years, waiting for the conflict to subside. By the time you return home, your house has been ransacked and is…