Yazidi refugee wins award for her social work, 350 volunteer hours in London

It was Delveen Al-Naamo's devoted involvement in the London community that allowed her to finally escape the isolation she felt after fleeing a restrictive lifestyle in northern Iraq.

"I have my freedom here. I can go out whenever I want. Nobody is going to say 'you're a girl, you can't go out'," she said. "Or, 'you're not good enough'."

Back in Mosul, the 21-year-old Kurdish woman, who's the eldest of six girls, had dreams of helping others and becoming a nurse. Each of her sisters had also carved out ambitious paths for themselves.

But Al-Naamo's parents knew those goals would be almost unachievable in a community that expects women to take care of the home and not seek other employment, she said.

That's why it's no surprise that when the family immigrated to London back in 2015, Al-Naamo wasted no time in discovering her surroundings.

"I have lots of friends and I found a job because of volunteering opportunities. And I met lots of nice people," said Al-Naamo, who found herself wearing many hats at the South London Community Centre.

She tried her hand at baby-sitting, transferring calls, navigating city buses and eventually sticking to what she's doing now, translating for Kurdish and Arabic newcomers.

"Before this, I felt very lonely … It's worth it. Even for one hour a day," said Al-Naamo, who's now racked up more than 350 volunteer hours.

And for those efforts, the newcomer was awarded the Engaged Refugee Award at the Life As A Refugee Conference on Wednesday, World Refugee Day.

'I'm very happy'

The inequity Al-Naamo faced back home was compounded by the harassment that came from being a Yazidi, an ethnic Kurd who practiced a religion that has elements of Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism.

People like her were targets of longstanding persecution by many including ISIS militants.

"We weren't accepted in our home so we had to leave," said Al-Naamo.

"[Here], the [settlement workers] encouraged me to say that a girl can do anything she wants here. She has the right to do it," she said.

Now, her sisters are in school, her parents are taking English courses and she's prepping to enrol in her first year at Fanshawe College for pre-health and sciences.

And even with the pressures of a new school workload, she'll continue to volunteer for 14 hours a week to give back to her community.

"[Canadians] accepted me the way I am and they said 'you're free here, your opinion is important to us. You can say whatever you want and we're going to respect it.' It was a very big difference for me," she said.

"I'm very happy," she said.