Nadias Initiative Inc

Nadia's Initiative Inc is a nonprofit organization that is committed to creating a world where women can live peacefully and supporting communities that have experienced trauma and suffering. Their mission is to advocate for the resources and policy changes needed to protect and support survivors of sexual violence and rebuild communities in crisis. The organization focuses on the Yazidi community in Sinjar, Iraq, which has faced resource deprivation, inadequate service provision, forced land removals, and underrepresentation in local governance and security forces. These factors left the community vulnerable to ISIS' attacks in 2014, resulting in the destruction of 80% of Sinjar's public and private infrastructure.

Nadia's Initiative Inc is working to sustainably rebuild Sinjar, laying the foundations for the community to not only survive but thrive. They adopt a grassroots approach to sustainable development, working with the local community and implementing partners to design, support, and implement projects that promote the restoration and improvement of education, healthcare, livelihoods, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), women's empowerment, and cultural preservation. All of Nadia's Initiative programs are community-driven and survivor-centric, aiming to foster long-term peacebuilding in the region and reduce the community's reliance on foreign aid.

In the healthcare sector, Nadia's Initiative is working to improve the region's healthcare sector by rebuilding hospitals and primary health centers, providing them with critical supplies, furniture, and medical equipment, and training specialized staff to provide survivor-centered, trauma-informed care. Improving the region's healthcare reduces the community's long-term vulnerability. In the education sector, the organization is improving access to quality education by rebuilding and furnishing primary, middle, and secondary schools, providing students with school supplies, investing in early childhood and post-secondary education, and constructing school libraries throughout the region. Ensuring access to quality education facilitates the healing process for children who have survived conflict and protracted displacement.

In the livelihoods sector, Nadia's Initiative is restoring the region's commerce, transportation, and trade by holistically rebuilding farmlands, supporting small business owners, constructing new roads and public works, and restoring electrical networks. In the WASH sector, the organization is rebuilding the WASH infrastructure in villages, schools, clinics, and farms throughout Sinjar. They are also conducting water management trainings and hygiene awareness sessions to empower the community to independently manage their own water sources and lead healthier lives.

In the women's empowerment sector, Nadia's Initiative designs survivor-centric women's empowerment programs to address the needs of women and girls in Sinjar by providing them with small business trainings and grants, rehabilitating their farmlands, rebuilding their homes, and empowering them to become advocates for change within their communities. Lastly, in the cultural preservation sector, the organization restores Yazidi temples with input from clergy, activists, and local families charged with guardianship of the shrines. They construct cemeteries and memorials to honor those who were killed and preserve the history of the community.