Building Hope

We Were Like Those That Dream
Chapter 1: Shariya Camp

This chapter tells part of the story of Building Hope, and of rebuilding lives in a 20,000-person camp for Yezidis displaced from Sinjar in August 2014.

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On Monday, September 5th, 2022, at 5 PM, we formally handed over the keys to new homes. It was a quietly monumental moment. Pir Dayan Jaafar, Director of the Ministry for Migration and Crisis Control, joined us, along with Salah Hassan Khudeeda (MCC Officer) and Jalal Lazgeen (Shariya Camp Manager).

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He thanked us. And he thanked all of you who helped us change the course of history. Then he commissioned us:

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“We need you to build more. Please do not stop. Please thank your donors and ask them to continue to help the people from Sinjar. These people need your hope. These people need your help.”

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During this past year, I’ve thought deeply about what it means to tear something down before something new can rise. We’ve spent much of this year building—whether through Horses for Hope or the Building Hope project inside Shariya Camp.

 

I’ve watched tents come down. I’ve watched the status of “displaced” and “homeless” begin to fade. And I’ve seen what happens when someone holds a key, walks through their own door, and steps into something made of bricks—not canvas. It has marked the beginning of the end of eight long years in limbo.

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The restoration of the human spirit—something wounded and worn—has, in many cases, begun in just three days.

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It will take me time to fully process what these weeks of building have meant. It’s a great responsibility to be entrusted by the government to help bring closure to a cycle of loss—and to open doors to new beginnings.

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We worked in silence. We kept the peace inside the camp even while building at scattered sites. And as much of our focus went to presence—on the ground—as it did to progress.

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And then came the moments that made my heart understand what we’d done.

Only when I saw the photo of Abu Majid’s pink house was I able to rejoice.

Only when Hala sent photos of herself and Nasser painting their dream home blue and white did I catch the spirit of “we were like those who dream.”

Only when I saw Adnan’s grin stretch beyond his ears did I allow my own heart to smile.