Who we are
Joint help for Kurdistan (JHK) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2014 by Kurdish-Swedish doctors and humanitarians. We are registered in Sweden, US and in Kurdistan.
We are non-partisan and non-sectarian: we stand with victims of war and genocide without regard to faith, ethnicity or political affiliation.
How we work
Refugees and displaced people need emergency aid and relief when disaster strikes. But they also need long-term support to rebuild their lives, families and communities even after the TV cameras have moved on. They need always to be empowered and not infantilised and they need to be given the tools and skills to take back control over their lives.
Our work is guided by a mindset we call the 4S principles. 4S stands for Scandinavian Sustainable Strategic Solutions. We believe that humanitarian work should be founded on values of independence and self-reliance. Emergency relief in the short term goes hand in hand with the long-term work of helping displaced individuals and communities build sustainable lives.
In additional to primary healthcare services, the field centre also houses a women’s holistic health centre and hosts educational programs for children and young people and a number of community events. Most staff are themselves IDPs and camp residents. All international staff work entirely on a volunteer basis.
We also work worldwide to spread information and promote awareness of the situation. To date we have hosted events in Sweden, Finland, UK, Italy, Poland, Norway, Ireland and the US.
Background
Joint Help for Kurdistan was founded by a group of compassionate and concerned doctors from Sweden in response to the August 2014 Shingal massacre and Yazidi genocide in Kurdistan. They assembled a team of volunteers and set forth on a mission to aid the growing number of sick, injured, and traumatized men, women, and children who survived the massacre.
Today JHK is run by a group of human right activists working voluntarily to reach our goals. We have teams in several countries. Though some dedicate their free time and others their whole lives to run the organisation voluntarily, there continues to be a need to better provide and coordinate medical treatment in conjunction with other services essential for the survivors.
JHK is a registered NGO in Sweden, the United States and in Kurdistan. Our way and means are based upon donations and funding from private individuals and other small NGO:s.