In just one year, more than 2 million Iraqis have been driven out of their homes in fear of the military advances of the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS). ISIS is violently slaughtering Christians and Muslims who won’t convert to their radicalised form of Islam, causing people to flee their homes and leave everything behind. Forty-eight percent of these refugees—almost 1 million—are hosted in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Because of your generous help, Feed The Hungry is currently feeding thousands of refugee children and families in Kurdistan. Thank you for your prayers, which continue to uplift and encourage these families, showing them the unfailing love of Jesus at a time when their lives have been turned upside down.
You might remember the story I told you about Allieh, the Christian mother whose 16-year-old son was shot and killed by ISIS for not converting to Islam. She and her family fled their home in Mosul to live in a refugee camp in Kurdistan. There, Feed The Hungry’s partner was able to provide desperately needed aid and comfort to a family who had lost everything to ISIS.
We’re so grateful for your support, which means we can help meet the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of people like Allieh… but there are thousands more who still need our help. Because the flood of refugees into Kurdistan was so unexpected and overwhelming, the aid and shelter provided is far from sufficient, and many people lack their basic needs such as baby formula, wheat, beans, and cooking oil.
Thousands of these displaced children and families are living in dire conditions—whether in tents, in buildings without walls or doors, under trees, or completely out in the open. Most of the shelter is insufficient to protect them from the wind and rain.. Many of the refugee camps have inadequate clean water, showers, and toilets—and others lack these amenities entirely. Most refugee families have absolutely nothing to call their own. They fled with the clothes on their backs or were robbed of their possessions by ISIS fighters in exchange for their lives.
There are 252,000 school-aged children (6 to 17 years old) displaced in the Kurdistan region, and few of them are going to school. Many of the camps lack schools, some families can’t afford the transportation to a school, and some children are needed to work in order for their families to survive. The strain of these visitors on the Kurdish communities is beginning to show, as refugees have been asked to leave their temporary homes in schools and unfinished buildings.
Khani is a 22-year-old woman whose family shares the basement of an unfinished building with six other families. They have no water or gas, and they have one heater provided by a charity. Now they have been asked to leave this building so construction on the site can be completed.
Now more than ever, it’s critical that we stand to support these vulnerable families and children, many of whom have lost their loved ones or witnessed the unspeakable brutality of ISIS, and show them the love of Jesus.
Thank you so much for your support, which has enabled us to provide food, relief, and the comforting message of hope to so many. Please pray that we are able to help meet the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of thousands more of these refugee families and children—letting them know how good a full life feels.
Field Report Volume 19 Number 1
For more stories of hope and life changes click the following links:-