About us – ShingalaAzad.com

Information About Us

The name of the humanitarian organization Shingala Azad translates as “Free Shingal”. Preparations for the establishment of the non-governmental non-profit humanitarian organization Shingala Azad for social development took place already in 2015, it was legally established only in 2016. The main purpose at that time was cooperation with other local and international organizations with the aim of providing assistance and supporting the victims of the so-called Islamic State, as well as assistance to all local and displaced residents of Nineveh Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and in Iraq. In addition to this main goal, Shingala Azad also includes providing assistance to these vulnerable groups in the field of providing medical, food and social assistance, as well as helping to protect existing sources of drinking water, finding and securing new sources of drinking water. An important goal became the fight for the rights of women and children, for the rights of victims of the war against the so-called Islamic State, refugees and all those who need such help both in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and throughout Iraq.

Establishment of Shingala Azad and its focus:

Shingala Azad, a non-profit local humanitarian NGO for social development, was founded in 2015, but was formally registered only in 2016. The main goal of Shingala Azad was the need to collaborate with other international and local organizations to provide support and help to local and displaced communities from the province of Nineveh, both in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and in Iraq, but also to the people in the refugee camps and to all the people in Iraq who need this help. Since its establishment, the Shingala Azad Social Development Organization, in addition to fighting for the rights of women and children, has been engaged in providing healthcare, food, social assistance, protection and finding new sources of safe potable water. An equally important goal of the organization is still the protection of the rights of victims of the war against the so-called Islamic State, local and internally displaced communities who need this help in the region of Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as in the Republic of Iraq.

Shingala Azad Partners and Projects:

Since 2016, Shingala Azad has been successfully cooperating with a partner from the Slovak Republic, namely the Slovak Catholic Charity. In 2017, the cooperation was extended by another important partner, the Diocesan Charity of Brno from the Czech Republic. Ever-expanding international cooperation enables independent financing or co-financing of individual projects with other local and foreign humaneterian organizations, as well as the joint preparation and implementation of various larger and smaller humanitarian and development projects.

Among the largest and most important projects implemented by Shingala Azad together with partners from the Slovak Republic of the Slovak Catholic Charity (Charita Slovensko) financed by the official development aid program of the Slovak Republic which is called SlovakAid and the Conference of Bishops of Slovakia (KBS) are the projects of the implementation of 19 artesian wells. Each well represents a new source of hygienically safe drinking water that is available to all local and displaced residents without distinction. We are currently continuing to work with our partners on the realization of two more artesian wells, 20 and 21 wells in total, and it is believed that their number will continue to increase.

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We have already implemented artesian wells in different areas like in Sharfadeen, Feshabur, Bozan, Baashiqah, Bahzani, Sinjar, Hasan Ava, Shekhka, Srejka, Bersavy, Birstek, Hatarah and Bagera. Now we are continuing the construction of two more wells in the villages of Doghata and Darkar. Thanks to implementation support of these wells, we have provided tens of thousands of local and settled residents with access to new sources of safe drinking water. The amount of funds invested in the projects totaled 1,121,890 EURO. Part of the financing of individual artesian well projects are professional seminars for local and displaced communities on the topic of water resource protection, the development of growing and breeding activities, personal hygiene, the importance of observing a drinking regime for people’s health.
In addition to the successful projects of artesian wells, since 2018 we have also focused on the treatment of existing water sources that are not suitable for health, by replacing water supply lines directly in villages, by building new above-ground reservoirs. A very important project for improving the quality of water supplies to households, kindergartens, elementary schools and medical facilities was the installation of water filtration devices and water cooling filtration devices. The value of these projects implemented in the cities of Avzeryke, Srechka, Daka Mazn, Daka Kavn, Birstek, Shekhka and financed by the official development aid program of the Slovak Republic – SlovakAid, the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia (KBS) and the Slovak Catholic Charity amounted to EUR 95,340.

In the period from 2019 to 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic – SlovakAid financially supported small local projects (microgrants) with a total value of 49,906.99 EURO. These were projects that focused on the distribution of food and hygiene packages in the Iraqi Kurdistan region to improve the quality of water supplies from existing sources by installing water filtration devices in households, or cooling water filtration devices in elementary schools, kindergartens, and health centers.

Together with our other partner Diocesan charity Brno, we focused on improving the availability of health care for local and displaced residents. The result of this cooperation was a project to build a medical facility in the village of Sharfadeen in Sinjar, which included a medical staff made up of local residents. Financial support for the operation of not only this medical facility, but also other similar medical facilities, focused on the health care of local and displaced persons, was provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic together with the Brno Diocesan Charity. In 2018, the medical facility in the village of Sharfadeen was successfully expanded to include a general practitioner’s office and a gynecology department, including the financial provision of the operation of the entire clinic and the provision of the salaries of medical staff. Among the very important joint projects of the Shingala Azad organization is the construction and operation of a healthcare center and a bakery in the town of Sinjar. The bakery project is significant from the point of view of securing jobs for females (adult women and girls) who were captured by the so-called Islamic State. In 2020, we helped staff the existing clinic in Sinjar town and the newly built clinic in Sharfadeen village. New specialized surgeries for gynecology and dentistry were also established in the town of Sinjar, which significantly increased the availability of health care for local and displaced residents. In November 2020, the Roj-Halat Primary Healthcare Center in the town of Sinjar was successfully handed over to the Nineveh Health Directorate in the Nineveh Governorate under the Ministry of Health of Iraq. Funding throughout the period was provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Diocesan Charity of Brno, and the amount of this assistance amounted to a total of CZK 12,993,297. Since 2017, Shingala Azad has implemented small local projects. It’s worthy to thank the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (MFA CR). The pilot project became a pediatric health center in Sinjar district. This was followed by the construction of a bakery and the renovation of primary schools in the total amount of CZK 1,443,347.

Among the very important joint projects of the Shingala Azad organization is the construction and operation of a healthcare center and a bakery in the town of Sinjar. The bakery project is significant from the point of view of securing jobs for females (adult women and girls) who were captured by the so-called Islamic State. In 2020, we helped staff the existing clinic in Sinjar town and the newly built clinic in Sharfadeen village. New specialized surgeries for gynecology and dentistry were also established in the town of Sinjar, which significantly increased the availability of health care for local and displaced residents. In November 2020, the Roj-Halat Primary Healthcare Center in the town of Sinjar was successfully handed over to the Nineveh Health Directorate in the Nineveh Governorate under the Ministry of Health of Iraq. Funding throughout the period was provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Diocesan Charity of Brno, and the amount of this assistance amounted to a total of CZK 12,993,297.

Since 2017, Shingala Azad has implemented small local projects. It’s worthy to thank the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (MFA CR). The pilot project became a pediatric health center in Sinjar district. This was followed by the construction of a bakery and the renovation of primary schools in the total amount of CZK 1,443,347.