The Lotus Flower

Born out of the Founder’s passion, personal experience and response to the humanitarian crisis caused by ISIS in Iraq in 2014, the Lotus Flower is a non-governmental organisation which runs three women’s centres for the IDP and refugee community in Kurdistan. The camp-based centres provide safe, supportive and healing environments for women and girl survivors, filling resource gaps by providing community-responsive programming. Our programs are based around three themes from the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals: Education and Livelihoods, Health and Safety, Peacebuilding and Human Rights, which each have gender equality as an underlying driver. To date, our work has included much-needed livelihoods projects, language courses, computer training and mental health support, plus awareness sessions and advocacy on women's rights and gender-based violence. We aim to provide the foundation for women to rebuild themselves, their families, and their futures. The Lotus Flower was officially registered in the UK in March 2015, and we are currently a charitable fund under the auspices of Prism the Gift Fund, Registered Charity Number: 1099682. Our Vision Our fundamental belief is that women and girls are powerful drivers of change. We strive for a world where they are safe from violence, free to access education and empowered to participate in their communities to drive social and economic change from within. Our Mission We invest in the future of women and girls because they play a vital role in resurrecting and strengthening their own communities. We work at grassroots level, and to ensure we meet the needs of women and girls, we listen to the local community and employ them to implement our programs. Just like the lotus flower as it emerges from muddy water into the light, we provide women and girl survivors with the strength and support they need to rise out of darkness, moving from past suffering and hardship to reach their full potential.