OMID Foundation USA

OMID Foundation was set up in 2004 to help young women in Iran who are victims of sexual, physical or mental abuse. Starting with a small group of 15 women, OMID now caters to more than 200 women at any one time. More than a quarter of them are Afghani immigrants. We work as trauma informed organization and now have a Peer Education and Leadership Program in place, which you can read more about on the Our Program page. The young women who come to us have typically been put into care from an early age, run away from abusive homes, and all live in extreme poverty. They often suffer from severe mental health and emotional difficulties, mostly stemming from their experiences of neglect, of physical and sexual abuse, and of exposure to drugs and violence. OMID works in a society where there is widespread societal acceptance of violence against women in Iran. The legal system gives very few rights to women, most of which are only selectively enforced, leaving women with little protection. The Iranian authorities themselves estimate that there are in excess of 500,000 marginalized young women in Iran who are the victims of abuse, violence and neglect. That makes the work we do, that much more urgent. We help those women who are victims of abuse. OMID is committed to strengthening the social, emotional and economic opportunities of disadvantaged young women in Iran. We provide them with a sense of self worth and life and opportunities in three key areas: self-empowerment, education and training. We pride ourselves on our holistic approach to helping these young women learn to be treated with respect, dignity and kindness. Women leave our program feeling proud, strong and able to live their lives happily and confidentially in today’s society. Now in our second decade, we believe that we have developed one of the most effective programs in the world.