We are every excited that the Women’s Health Workshops have commenced in Rwanga refugee camp in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq.

Operation Hope sent 2,200 hygiene kits in our shipping container which arrived in Kurdistan in February this year. The kits were provided by Chapters of “Days for Girls” in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. On arrival in Kurdistan the kits were given to NGO “The Lotus Flower” who have now trained 4 women (who reside in the camps) to present the information via workshops. The Lotus Flower run activities and programmes at women’s centres in three refugee camps in Kurdistan and the Women’s Health workshops will be delivered in the womens centres.

Operation Hope raised $A3,777 in our Refugee week fundraiser and sent to The Lotus Flower to enable a small salary to paid to the presenters. Several days of intense training were undertaken by the 4 presenters then girls aged 10-16 received invitations and the workshops have now begun. The project is on target to present and distribute 700 of the kits by end of February 2020.

Vian Ahmed, the Regional Manager for The Lotus Flower says:

“One of the main programs the Lotus Flower is running in IDP camps in Iraq, in partnership with Operation Hope Australia and the Presbyterian Church in the US, is the Girls Hygiene project that teaches young girls menstrual hygiene management and provides them with reusable kits as a sustainable solution to manage their periods. The goal of menstrual hygiene management is to ensure that women and girls can manage their periods in a way that is not only healthy, but that enables their full participation in school, work, and other activities.

All Participants and Presenters have given their consent and permission for the use of the attached photos. The feature photo at top of article shows one of two women’s health workshops run in 2018.