Leading humanitarian agency Care International has awarded The Lotus Flower a grant to help fund training and enterprise skills for a small group of women.
Only two grants were given for the entire Middle Eastern region, and The Lotus Flower’s Women’s Business Initiative (WBI) was considered one of the two worthy recipients of funding for training and mentorship. The grant will support around 15 women based at the Rwanga Community Camp as they develop their own small business initiatives.
Care International’s grant is part of a scheme to tackle gender-based violence in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. In Iraq, it was decided that the grants should go towards women and girls who have suffered physical abuse and been denied resources and opportunities.
The training scheme is set to run for three months, with mentorship continuing throughout the year. In addition, The Lotus Flower’s centre for women and girls will host awareness sessions on gender-based violence, as well as women’s legal rights.
Founder Taban Shoresh says: “We are delighted that Care International has chosen to support us. The grant will provide an invaluable opportunity for many of our women to seek economic and financial independence at long last. Crucially, this can be on their own terms and reflect the needs of their own community – which they know better than anyone else.”
