Erbil, KURDISTAN (May15, 2018) – Rwanga Foundation in partnership with Marathon Oil held the graduation ceremony for 130 graduates of the Income Generation Project for completing the courses of English Language, Computer and Sewing in Erbil.
During the ceremony, representatives of Marathon Oil, Ministry of Martyr and Anfal Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and families of the graduates were present.
‘’We are very pleased to support the martyr families. During our work in Kurdistan Region, we have done many other projects in support of the community. Income Generation Project is one of the projects that is funded by Marathon Oil. I would like to congratulate the graduates on their graduation‘’ said Ahmed Abdulqadir, Representative of Marathon Oil in Kurdistan Region.
Rwanga Foundation, funded by Marathon Oil Corporation, completed a project of cash assistance distribution to families of the martyred peshmergas and security forces who were killed in the war against ISIS. The project provided cash assistance (USD850) to 1,453 people.
Later, the MarathonOil and Rwanga Foundation agreed to use the remained funds to conduct income-generation project for the martyrs’ family members - mainly the youths and women - to support them to find jobs and become financially independent.
Abdulsalam Medeni, Chief Executive Director at Rwanga Foundation shared Rwanga Foundation's vision in supporting the martyr families and developing their skills. ‘’ the course and capacity building trainings act as great opportunities for the graduates to find jobs in the job market and/or build their own projects to support themselves and their families. Cash assistant can support families for a short time, but improving their skills gives them better changes for job security and financially independence’’
The project provided a three-month course for 100 female and male youth (2 months English and 1month computer) in Erbil. The beneficiaries were mainly from Erbil centre but also the surrounding townships and villages. Transportation fee was provided to the participants according to distance of beneficiary’s place of living from the training centre. At the end of the course, top three participants per group(15 participants in total), who will be selected based on a final exam by the trainers, will be offered internship for one month and accordingly provided with USD 150 each.
Furthermore, sewing courses had been opened for 30 women for two months in Soran and Harir districts respectively. At the end of the course, each woman participant received a sewing machine and some necessary tools and materials to start up a small-scale, mainly home-based, business.
