Volunteers launch project to turn Kurdistan Region’s villages green

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Halabja-based youth volunteer group is spearheading a project to make the villages of the Kurdistan Region greener and clean up water resources with the financial support of local NGO Rwanga Foundation.

The first phase of the project consisted of organizing clean-ups of various villages in the Kurdistan Region and help promote a culture of volunteerism and service in the region.

“Volunteering with organizations is not about earning financial compensation, but about leaving a footprint, and serving the different classes in society,” Rojin Mansour, a volunteer, told Rudaw’s Sazgar Salah on Wednesday.

“I think volunteering can send a beautiful message that everyone can live humanely anywhere,” Mansour added.

Darbast Adib, another volunteer, voiced happiness about participating in the project, stressing that “with the support of the Rwanga Foundation, we have planted these trees to make our village greener.” 

The Halabja-based Hawar group, consisting of seven volunteers, is financially supported in this project by the Rwanga Foundation. 

“Fortunately, these projects were supported by the Rwanga Foundation, which always supports the youth,” said Sozan Faraj, the project supervisor. 

“The project aims to revive the wells and water resources in the village, increase the green area, and most importantly, promote volunteerism among people,” she continued.

Abdulsalam Madani, CEO of the organization, told Rudaw that Rwanga Foundation has implemented 296 projects since its foundation in 2013, adding that said projects provided services in the fields of education, youth, and environment and served vulnerable people. 

The organization’s mission, according to its website, is to “provide services, build capacities, and design policies to ensure easy access to education for all and improve the overall educational standards in [the Kurdistan Region of Iraq] KRI, Iraq, and the greater global community.”