Since 2019, the US government has provided over $2 million to support the financing of Lalish temple’s restoration, however its support to the Yazidi community goes beyond the temple’s physical restoration.
On Sunday Stroh met with Yazidi leaders, officials and clergymen at Lalish temple, where he reaffirmed his support for the Yazidi community.
During his visit Stroh announced the launch of a new $150,000 educational project targeting residents of Sheikhan district. The project consists in the provision of English classes to 144 high school students from Sheikhan over two years.
“The United States is committed to supporting the Yezidi community and religious and ethnic minorities in the Kurdistan region and Iraq,” said the US Consulate General in a statement on Facebook.
“Today, I am especially thrilled to announce that we have provided an additional $150,000 [US] dollars to the Free Yazidi Foundation to provide two years of after-school and weekend classes to more than 140 high school students in Sheikhan [district] including some of those who reside in the IDP camps to help them better prepare for a better life and careers after school,” said Stroh.
Zozan Hasib, head of the education department at the Free Yezidi Foundation (FYF), said the project’s aim is “to teach English and build the personality of the participants, who are between 13 and 16 years old.”
The Free Yezidi Foundation (FYF) provides support to the Yazidi community in the aftermath of the 2014 Yezidi Genocide at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS). FYF advocates for the rights and well-being of Yazidis in Iraq and the diaspora, focusing on women's empowerment, justice, and community rebuilding through trauma therapy, education, training, and economic growth.
On August 3, 2014, ISIS militants took over the Shingal district of northern Iraq, committing genocide against the Yazidi minority. Thousands fled their homes as the militants systematically killed men and older women, and enslaved younger women and children. More than 5,000 Yazidis were killed in the genocide.
