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Programs and results
What we aim to solve
AMAR helps people in areas of conflict, civil disorder, and disruption, rebuilding lives and communities through professional health and education services.
AMAR helps people in areas of conflict, civil disorder, and disruption, rebuilding lives within communities under stress by creating and sustaining professional services in medicine, public health, education and basic need provision. We rebuild lives.
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Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Combatting Gender Based Violence
Our STOP-GBV program uses Support, Training, Outreach, and Publicity to improve services for survivors of gender-based violence and decrease instances of GBV in Iraq.
The program promotes a positive cultural discourse on gender and increases awareness about GBV via:
1. GBV Assistance Centers that provide legal assistance and social support in seven Iraqi governorates;
2. GBV sensitization trainings for Iraqi police, reinvigoration of Community Police Units, and capacity building programs for local NGOs;
3. Rights Awareness and Violence Prevention (RVP) workshops at schools and universities; and
4. Media Units publicizing the STOP-GBV project and its goals at each GBV Center.
Primary Care & Health Training for Refugees
In December 2014, AMAR launched the construction of a Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) in response to the great need for health services in Khanke Camp - a camp for displaced people and refugees in Iraq's Dohuk governorate.
The PHCC delivers a variety of health services, including consultations and vaccinations, to the 17,000+ men, women, and children occupying the camp and an additional 8,000 internally displaced people living outside the offical camp boundaries.
In addition to the direct relief services provided by the PHCC, we are also engaging in public health and external outreach programs such as:
1. Trainings for women's health volunteers that make home visits and counsel on preventative health practices;
2. Health education sessions delivered to local schools by PHCC staff; and
3. Psychiatric consultations and other social services delivered via home visits.
Inclusive Vocational and Entrepreneurship Skills Training (INVEST) Centers in Iraq
AMAR's INVEST program has established 6 INVEST centers in Iraq focused on providing entrepreneurial skills and vocational training to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and host communities throughout the country. AMAR has chosen to work together with IDP communities as well as host communities to encourage and facilitate integration, while promoting a peaceful environment.
AMARs INVEST centers have served as a catalyst for local business development in the region, with many participants seeing their incomes increase as a result of INVEST training courses. INVEST has also resulted in an increase in local employment and economic opportunity based on the direct involvement of local businesses with the training courses.
The INVEST centers offer many different courses in vocational and entrepreneurial fields as well as in handicrafts. The INVEST centers also offer child care kindergartens that teach the children of INVEST participants math, literacy and English. Some of the training courses offered through INVEST are:
-English
-Math
-Arabic
-Kurdish Literacy
-Computer Literacy
-Sewing
-Hair Dressing
-Mobile phone and computer maintenance
Escaping Darkness: Providing Psychological Protection and Awareness in Iraq
AMAR's Escaping Darkness: Providing Psychological Protection and Awareness in Iraq is dedicated to providing health, social and psychological support to predominantly female populations coming from former ISIS held territories. The majority of patients in this program are women from displaced communities.
Escaping Darkness also works to increase awareness in Iraq about gender based violence, mental health and the beneifts of psycho-social support. This work is done through radio shows that discuss mental health problems and gender based violence. It is also done through community lectures focused on mental health, gender based violence and personality disorders.
Escaping Darkness established Psychological Support Units that offer psycho-social support to affected communities. AMAR also trained General Practitioners (GP) and Community Based Workers (CBW) on mental health assessments, prescribe medication and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Some of the pschyo-social support services that are available to the affected communities through Escaping Darkness are as such:
-coping mechanisms
-self care education
-mental health assessments
-home mental health visits
-clinical mental support
-referrals to psychiatrists and other health support services
NEW Iraq
The Network for the Economic Empowerment of Women in Iraq (NEW Iraq) project was established to catalyze sustainable livelihoods for Female Heads of Household in southern Iraq. This will economically empower and integrate them into Iraq's economic and social fabric, maximize the opportunities available to them, and foster entrepreneurship and economic activity within their communities.
Through the establishment of a mentoring network, southern Iraqi Female Heads of Households will receive professional development training in order to increase their opportunities to engage in income-generating activities.
AMAR U.S. and Mitsubishi Corporation Water in Schools Project
Working with Mitsubishi Corporation AMAR U.S. installed 2 Reverse Osmosis (RO) Units in the al-Quds and Midean schools in Basra, Iraq. In addition to the installation of the RO units and water fountains, students will also be participating in WASH training courses.
Replenishing Water in the Southern Iraqi Marshlands with The Coca-Cola Foundation
AMAR and The Coco-Cola Foundation's replenishment project will use an all-natural reedbed system to treat domestic sewage and wastewater. Contaminated water will flow into and recharge the marshes. All elements of the project will be carried out in close coordination with the Basra Directorate of the Envriornment, who will take on the sustainable management of the reedbeds once the system has been installed.
The implementation of this replenish project will help reduce the pollutant levels in the water of the marshes, improve the natural habitat, and encourage the conservation of this vital ecosystem - altogether making it's safer for nearby communities to utilize and live alongside the unique marshland enviornment.
AMAR Community Engagement Centers for Youth (ACE Centers)
To empower vulnerable youth to become active and engaged members of society through the cultivation of economic activity, the provision of protection against Gender Based Violence (GBV) and psycho-social trauma, and the promotion of positive cultural discourse.
The core programming at the ACE Centers will include vocational, entrepreneurial, and life skills training courses.
Where we work
External reviews
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of individuals applying skills learned through the organization's training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Inclusive Vocational and Entrepreneurship Skills Training (INVEST) Centers in Iraq
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These skills include computer literacy, language skills, sewing, hair dressing and handicrafts. This only a sample of how many people benefit from AMAR's skills courses in Iraq.
Number of program participants who remain employed 12 months after program completion
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Inclusive Vocational and Entrepreneurship Skills Training (INVEST) Centers in Iraq
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This reflects the number of training participants who attended business and employment workshops. Many participants have seen an increase in income through these courses, and local business has grown.
Number of teachers trained
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This number represents teachers that have been trained in multiple programs and are active in AMARs schools and community centers. It also represents religious and community leaders.
Number of schools established in rural communities
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This encompasses AMAR's total teaching centers. This includes schools, mobile and primary health clinics, training centers, child care centers, community centers, psychological support centers.
Number of health education trainings conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Escaping Darkness: Providing Psychological Protection and Awareness in Iraq
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This number represents training for Women Health Volunteers, Community Based Workers and General Practitioners. The training's are in areas of psycho-social support, mental health and health education
Number of lessons taught
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This represents the thousands of lessons that are given through all of AMARs programs. These lessons are given at healthcare clinics, training and education centers, community centers and schools.
Number of patient consultations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Primary Care & Health Training for Refugees
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Over 5 million medical consultations delivered by AMAR Staff since 2005
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
AMAR works to deliver services on a sustained and lasting basis to underserved populations, refugees and internally displaced persons in the Middle East and South Asia. AMAR's role is to bring public health and education to people who need it in areas where governments and the private sector lack capacity, and to work with local authorities to create structures and systems for the long term, built on a foundation of excellence and experience.
Our delivery of service rests on a firm understanding of the communities and countries within which we work and a methodology of substantive research and survey work to identify those in most need.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
To build local professional capacity;
To teach and disseminate best practice according to the highest international standards through in-service training, external courses and conferences;
To develop models of work and replicate these through our own or other agencies;
To spread knowledge of local needs outside the regions affected;
To tailor costs to local economies;
To purchase locally in order to improve the local economy;
To use local staff and skills from our areas of operation to expand the work into other under-served regions;
To work closely with host governments; and
To promote relevant dialogue and to be involved in dialogue implementation.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
AMAR's purpose is to relieve poverty, distress or suffering by providing medical, rehabilitative, financial, public health or educational assistance to individuals or communities in any part of the world, in particular, victims of war, civil disturbance, natural disaster or breaches of human rights.
Our use of local in-country staff provides an unrivalled understanding of the local context and local needs of the communities AMAR serves. We are able to work with community leaders to develop activities that are culturally sensitive and relevant to community needs, which therefore also gain widespread community acceptance, ensuring the efficacy of our projects.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
AMAR's all-local model has been proven to achieve for cents what others achieve for dollars.
Former Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army, General Peter Chiarelli, stated that:
“I think the thing that is probably the most important is that what AMAR built was sustainable - what we were trying to build was unsustainable. Everything was auditable. The Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction said that it was the best spent $2 million that they had seen in Iraq."
Sharon Eubank, the Director of LDS Charities, has said of AMAR:
"LDS Charities has partnered with AMAR since 2010. The partnership has trained birth attendants throughout the country of Iraq on how to resuscitate infants. Participants have used these skills and the donated equipment to save thousands of babies."
AMAR aims to take its model, so successfully developed in Iraq, to other countries in the Middle East and beyond.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
aspire international
Board of directorsas of 01/03/2020
Chris Straub
Christopher C Straub
No Affiliation
Margaret Casscells-Hamby
Allison Hills
Chevron
Leslie Schweitzer
Friends of the American University of Afghanistan
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes