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EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis
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"This path improved my life a lot. There are other disabled people. They sit in their houses without work. They should also benefit from those projects."

Shakhwan, 32, lives in the village of Zilkan, in Erbil Governorate. He was a member of the Peshmerga, the military forces of the Kurdistan region of Iraq who defeated Daesh in 2017. After a car accident, he lost the use of his legs and became disabled.

“When the accident happened, my financial situation worsened considerably. I stayed bedridden for three years. I became a burden to the others, especially to my wife. I lost hope for life,” he explains.

Shakhwan got support from the Trust Fund supported Qudra project. He was offered two cows and built a shed for his cattle. A ramp was also built to improve his mobility in a wheelchair. This allows him to move more independently and has improved his social and economic life.

Shakhwan says: “I help my wife feed the cows and supervise them. My wife milks the cows and she sells the dairy products at the market.”