“I realized that joining [Shared Future] was a turning point that I will never forget.”
Ahmed, 26, fondly remembers green spring afternoons spent as a youth playing soccer with his neighbors and friends in his village near Bashiqa in northern Iraq. He loved to play soccer, and in high school he often dreamed of becoming a professional player. Although his life took a quite different turn over the years, through the USAID-funded Shared Future project, Ahmed was able to share the joy of soccer with the children of various ethnic and religious groups in his community.
While Ahmed was in high school, ISIS attacks on his village in 2014 forced him and his family to flee for safety. “Continuing studying was difficult,” Ahmed said. “I struggled to go to school, as schools were quite far from me and my family moved from a place to another across Iraq. That’s why I was forced to postpone my studies.” In 2017, after completing his schooling in Erbil, Ahmed’s family returned to their village to find everything stolen. Despite these enormous challenges, he and his family insisted on staying and starting over. “It was not easy to trust others after what everyone has witnessed.”
The following year, Ahmed heard about Shared Future, a project that supports ISIS-affected communities to rebuild the broken trust among different ethnic and religious groups. Shared Future also helps young people start their own businesses or find employment. Ahmed was excited to apply and was accepted into the social cohesion component of the project. “First, I thought it’ll only add skills to my CV, but with time, I realized it was adding way more to me,” Ahmed said. “I realized that joining was a turning point that I will never forget.”
Ahmed prioritized the social cohesion workshops and would leave work to join his peers and new friends. He particularly enjoyed the sessions related to leadership, stress management, and accepting other people’s opinions. “Normal education is easy to find anywhere, but what we learn here is very deep and life changing.”
In the final stage of social cohesion activities, participants of different ethnic and religious backgrounds formed small teams to design community-oriented projects that address local needs. These initiatives were then implemented with the support of small grants funded by USAID. Ahmed’s team, named “The Peacemakers,” was comprised of 10 participants who worked together to refurbish a crumbling sports center in their hometown of Bashiqa, attended by people of all ethnic and religious groups. After obtaining approvals from the project management and the local authorities, the team began painting the center and filling it with new sports equipment.
“Seeing the work’s result made my eyes tear up,” Ahmed said. “I love soccer so much, but I never received support. But when we worked on the center, I felt an indescribable joy for this achievement. I’m supporting others achieve their dreams now!”
All names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
CRS for USAID