Garden party for LTT’s team of Garden Competition Coordinators
Following the success of our 2022 Garden Competitions, Aveen Ibrahem, our Operations Manager in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, organised a garden party for our dedicated team of coordinators and gardeners who work across nine camps for displaced people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and who are all displaced themselves.
We celebrated everyone’s hard work and support in making this year’s competitions run so smoothly, allowing us to present 99 awards this year and encouraging a record number of garden entries totalling more than 2,300. And due to everyone living in camps that are geographically widespread across the region, the party was also an opportunity for the team to meet, get to know one another and share gardening tips.
We have at least one, and in most cases two, garden facilitators in each of the nine refugee and IDP camps in which we run annual garden competitions.
Creating the party space
Aveen transformed a disused space adjacent to her office in Azadi Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp into a beautiful and welcoming garden party space. Displayed on the hand-woven fencing panels are photo collages of gardeners receiving prizes in LTT garden competitions over the past five years. The comfy seating in this shaded corner of the garden provided a lovely setting to hear a few words from Aveen and enjoy drinks and nibbles. (This space is now also enjoyed by other camp community groups and charitable organisations who are invited to use the garden we have created in Domiz 1 for meetings and workshops.)
And of course, all good parties involve cake and this one was no exception – all made locally in Domiz 1 camp!
Award time
During the celebration Aveen presented each camp facilitator(s) with a certificate and gift box to thank them for their contribution to our work.
Each of our garden facilitators are tasked with promoting the annual garden competitions in their camp, by handing out posters, spreading the word by visiting people at their home shelters and encouraging residents to take part. Facilitators manage a WhatsApp group where gardeners submit photos of their gardens to enter the competitions before judging the entries to decide upon the winners.
Othman and Laila, the facilitators in Gawillan camp, were awarded a special prize cup for their outstanding planning skills and professionalism, setting a great example of best practice to the whole team.
Ismail, Zhian and Shalal, our small team of gardeners who work with Aveen at the Azadi Community Garden, were not forgotten. They each received a certificate and gift box for their ongoing efforts and commitment to Lemon Tree Trust and for helping make Azadi such a beautiful and welcoming space for the whole community to enjoy.
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