Mitrali, the eldest of five siblings, fled the war with her family at the age of 16 and settled in Türkiye without knowing the language or culture. Her Kurdish knowledge provided some support, but not nearly enough. She started studying Turkish at high-school in Van.

She was already 19 years old when she graduated from high school. She spoke Turkish fluently enough and quickly adjusted to her new home, successfully passing the university exam to pursue her dream career. She completed her university education in four years and received a good grade. However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit her hard, leaving her unemployed for nearly two years. She became unusually reserved and a loner.  

She also struggled in her first few social cohesion sessions at Leader Woman Association (LWA), where she was on the verge of quitting. However, she met other young women and children who had fled the war and were facing similar issues with language, harmonisation, and social life as she was. She then became a volunteer for LWA’s social cohesion activities, assisting the team with translation, events and office administration.

She has broadened her horizons, followed her ambition and begun to support the education of two children with special needs after volunteering for four months with LWA. At present she accompanies them to school and assists them with their language studies. Mitrali’s resilience has been strengthened thanks to CLIP 2’s support; she has now been offered a professional job at the private school where those two children are enrolled.

Mitrali has become a strong woman who is doing a labour of love while also assisting others with stories similar to hers.