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Last year marked the opening of one of our biggest projects to date, the Hikayati (My Story) center – the first of its kind in Iraq. Hikayati is an extraordinary project designed to redefine the lives of orphaned children. Inspired by the world of children’s storybooks, every aspect of the center aims to nurture the creativity and imagination of every child! Hikayati is a sanctuary where children aged 8 to 14 embark on a journey of holistic development through play, mentorship, therapy, and tailored programs. Each child receives personalized attention, ensuring they have the support they need to flourish. With dedicated mentors guiding them every step of the way, the children are empowered to navigate life’s challenges, knowing they always have someone to turn to for guidance and support.
On May 6th, 2023, Al-Ayn opened the doors to the Hikayati Center, a ground-breaking purpose-built new center in Najaf, Iraq, that aims to foster the well-being, resilience, and life chances of orphaned children and young people. The center, opened exactly 20 years after the start of the war in Iraq, promises hope and positivity to the children of a country that has experienced years of conflict and turmoil.
Hikayati, which translates to “My Story,” is a purpose-built child-centered building located in the Adala district of Najaf. The building was conceptualized by Al-Ayn and designed by an Iraqi architect. Children and young people who come to the Hikayati center make use of the cutting-edge recreational and educational facilities of the center while undertaking a thorough, evidence-informed program specially designed to develop their resilience, emotional well-being, and life skills.
Keeping to the “Hikayati” (My Story) name, the center’s design and architecture are inspired by children’s storybooks. All the rooms, including the library, theatre, indoor swimming pool, museums, and prayer area, were designed to cultivate a creative environment where children can learn, grow, and use their imaginations.
The objective of the Hikayati program is to provide orphaned children, between the ages of 8 and 14, with programs to enhance their well-being, mental health, and life opportunities through a combination of:
Every child receives a program personalized to their needs, with specially designed workshops and long-term mentoring. Each child is allocated a mentor who supports them during the program and then continues to mentor them long-term. This ensures that every child knows who to turn to if they are concerned, need guidance and advice, or need help.
To encourage orphaned children and young people to develop crucial life skills, resilience and wellbeing
To provide orphaned children and young people with long-term mentoring, which will provide emotional support, enhance school return and retention
To enable the early detection of any mental or physical health difficulties, family or financial stressors, educational challenges, or safeguarding concerns and activate early referral to the appropriate support services within and outside of Al-Ayn
The children’s practitioners and staff in Hikayati have backgrounds as teachers, social workers, and youth workers and have all been trained in therapeutic and mentoring skills to help the children long term. As many of the children have experienced adverse childhood experiences, all our staff have been trained specifically in trauma awareness and how to handle these sensitive symptoms as they arise. Empowering vulnerable young people to achieve mental well-being, realize their potential, and become productive members of society and the leaders of tomorrow is the vision of Hikayati.
The Hikayati approach is underpinned by a deeply held philosophy where children are the center of everything that is done, the dignity and individuality of every child are respected, and children are provided with a safe place where they are supported to express their concerns so that they can receive the required help and attention they need. There is a sincere belief in the potential of every child, and staff are energized by the opportunity to support and scaffold children to thrive and not only to survive. For children who may have suffered from early life adverse experiences, poverty, and bereavement- having an emotionally available, motivated mentor who really believes in you and your potential can be life-changing.
At the Hikayati Center, the children have the opportunity to grow, develop their character, and be the best person they can be. The program promotes inclusivity and caters to children of different ages, abilities, backgrounds, and genders. A positive behavior management approach is used when working with the children, reinforcing positive behaviors and trying to understand others- believing that all behavior is communication, and that connection is the first step to correction. It is important for these children to have positive role models in their lives, and the staff at Hikayati are exactly that for them.
Children and young people aged 8-14 years are referred to Hikayati by their local Al-Ayn branches.
They undertake a screening process and questionnaires about mental health and wellbeing before the program.
They complete the intensive Hikayati program which usually consists of 12 visits to the Hikayati center. During this time, they complete the Hikayati workshops, enjoy the facilities and are introduced to their mentor.
After every visit/workshop children are asked for their feedback and suggestions for improvement
Mechanisms are in place to escalate/refer/provide additional support to any children where health/ mental health/financial/educational/ safeguarding concerns are detected
At the end of the program, the screening process and questionnaires about mental health and wellbeing are repeated
Children have a short graduation celebration
Children continue to have contact with their mentor on at least a monthly basis
The Hikayati program was specially developed using evidence–based approaches that are trauma-sensitive and informed. It was curated and developed by Dr Amina Al-Yassin, the program manager at Hikayati, with project support and coordination from Sarah Ladak, who is based at the London offices of Al-Ayn.
The program development included a research and development phase, as well as visiting and learning from similar projects and programs in the UK and elsewhere. Children from Al-Ayn were consulted about what was important to them and what they would want to see in Hikayati.
The program topics were informed by the curriculum of the Skills Builders partnership; however, the content was specially created for Hikayati. Once the programs were developed, they were peer-reviewed by a network of over 40 specialists from bereavement, psychology, speech and language therapy, counseling, and educational backgrounds.
All of the Hikayati programs were reviewed by a senior scholar within Al-Ayn to ensure their cultural appropriateness and suitability. Prior to its launch, all of the Hikayati programs were piloted in Iraq and the UK, where children’s opinions and feedback were gathered and taken into account.
The core program at Hikayati includes a structured timetable of workshops, along with therapeutic and leisure activities. It works to develop the children’s emotional health, confidence and resilience, life skills, teamwork and collaboration, aspirations, and religious and cultural identity. Each workshop teaches the relevant skills through a holistic learning approach and allows the children to practice these learned skills with interactive and hands-on activities. The workshop topics in Hikayati include teamwork and collaboration, confidence and resilience, leadership skills, art–based therapeutic activities, coping skills, and emotional intelligence, communication and presentation skills, career aspirations and goal setting, school retention, problem-solving skills, and etiquette skills.
Since its launch, the Hikayati programs have been accredited by the Children’s University. The Children’s University is a British charity that encourages and celebrates children’s participation in learning activities beyond the classroom. Children collect stamps in a passport for each activity they take part in, encouraging learning and participation in a whole range of new and exciting activities in varied environments.
Children attend the Hikayati Center regularly, where they complete the following workshops as well as benefitting from the resources and activities in the building:
After completing the program, children then continue to be mentored and will have contact with their mentor at least once a month. Mentoring activities could include:
Regular check-ins including goal setting and review, revisiting and reviewing important life skills learnt during Hikayati and thinking about how to use these in daily life
Intensive case-working e.g. to re-register a child in school or to overcome the obstacles in their way to return to school
Referring children to other sources of support within Al-Ayn such as health, finance, education or housing
The Hikayati Center officially opened its doors on May 6th 2023, but the workshops and program have been running in Iraq since December 2021, with nine cohorts of children completing the program so far. For those who have attended thus far, the staff, family members, and children themselves have already started to witness the positive impact of the Hikayati program on the children.
Of the school leavers who attended the school retention program, 85% have been re-registered in school and many have since passed their first set of examinations since being back. In one case, a widowed mother was so inspired by her daughter’s return to school that she decided to enroll in an adult education course to learn how to read and write!
A significant proportion of the children had emotional or behavioral difficulties detected before the start of the program, and in 60% of cases there was an improvement in these scores by the end of the program (Warwick Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale and Me and my feelings questionnaires).
More than the numbers, Hikayati is full of stories about the children and their experiences during Hikayati. A girl who had, up until the end of primary school, been a high-achieving student suddenly dropped out of secondary school. It was only with the gentle exploration of the Hikayati staff that it was discovered that this was due to her phobia of heights and the staircases at the school. Through gentle support and graded exposure therapy techniques, the Hikayati practitioner enabled her to overcome her fear and reconsider school again.
In another case, a child who had been exhibiting unusual thoughts and behavior came to Hikayati. Through careful observation, symptoms of psychosis were uncovered by staff who arranged a referral to the Luminous Stars centers (Al-Ayn’s psychological rehabilitation centers). A careful assessment led to the diagnosis of Di George syndrome- a condition that causes not only psychological difficulties but cardiac ones, too. He is now under careful follow-up by multiple specialists, and any evolving cardiac difficulties will be detected and managed early.
“There is a change in her personality and a clear development in her skills, especially in the subject of helping others and teamwork”
“He benefited a lot from My Story workshops where he didn’t like to go out or socialize with children and spend all his time inside the house and he didn’t have friends at school but now he says he has friends in My Story and he loves them and he loves to communicate with them”
“Yes, my son had a lot of shyness, even the teachers at school were complaining about his shyness and lack of participation in class, but now I feel that he has improved a lot as he has the ability to speak in front of students in class and participate in school preparation”
I didn’t care about other people’s feelings, now I care. -Female age 12
I enjoyed it, you are very nice and treated me well. Now I can work better with other people. It changed my perspective and made me positive. It was perfect, I can’t imagine anything better! -Female age 15
Hikayati is like my family. I hope the smile lasts on your face like you made me smile. -Male age 13
A 9-year-old girl never liked to talk because she feels scared and if she talks to her she mumbles and no voice comes out of her, and it was noted that she has a beautiful personality and this personality has been developed and now the child has the ability to talk comfortably and clearly as well her relationship with her peers has improved and this contributed to the drawing of her personality again.
One of the children is very quiet to the point of inactivity but in the last 10 days he started playing and has a positive energy that fills the place and plays in a comfortable way.
One of the workshops had two children who thought they had no positive qualities, but after the end of the workshop they discovered that they had distinctive and real qualities and were very happy.
The Hikayati program is a real testament to Al-Ayn’s commitment to improving the lives of orphaned children. Despite it being early days yet, the outcomes, results, and stories coming out of Hikayati are very promising. The Hikayati, “My Story” center will ensure that the children’s stories, which had a very difficult first few chapters, should have a much more positive and bright ending.