1: What are you trying to accomplish?
2: What's your evidence that you can accomplish it?
3: How is it possible that you can provide an open heart surgery in Iraq for less than $1,000? Is that the full cost?
4: So is that the same thing as saying that my donation doesn't really make a difference? That the "up to 85%" funded locally by those inside Iraq is all that is really necessary to make this work?
5: Any other costs?
6: What is the bottleneck to more surgeries: money or skilled labor?
7: I'm skeptical of non-profits and charities because they always seem to be asking for more money. How can I be sure that Preemptive Love Coalition has "room for more funding" and that I'm not paying into a huge savings account, "Rainy Day Fund", or something similar?
8: Do you have enough volunteer surgeons available for unfunded Remedy Missions? (i.e., are there trips that you could fund if you had more money, or is there a labor bottleneck?)
9: Many heart surgeries require follow-up treatment (including additional surgeries). Do you have a way of providing these to patients?
10: How do you assess whether surgeries are completed competently and appropriately?
11: What is the rate of complications during and following surgery?
12: How do you assess whether surgeons are performing additional surgeries that they would have not had the funding or motivation to perform otherwise?
13: How do you assess whether surgeons are charging their patients for the surgeries you fund?
14: Do you follow up with the surgeons you've trained to assess whether they are correctly applying their training?
15: What information is available on the activities - and competence - of the surgeons you've trained?
16: Where do surgeons work after completing training? Do they serve poor patients?
17: How much do you spend each year on "program" expenses and how much on "overhead?"


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 Q: What are you trying to accomplish?

A: Train Iraqi heart surgeons and nurses so they can eradicate the backlog of tens of thousands of Iraqi children waiting in line for lifesaving heart surgery. [Back to Top]

 Q: What's your evidence that you can accomplish it?

A: Each year we continue to increase Iraq's total number of pediatric cardiac surgeries with new surgeries in Iraqi centers that would not - indeed could not - have been accomplished otherwise. Ministry of Health (MOH) officials speculate 500 surgeries were accomplished in 2009 (of which we provided 23 - 4.6% - outside the country). The addition of our 82 surgeries in FY 2010 - to the 500 baseline - for a total of 582 approximated surgeries, represents an increase created by PLC of 14% over 2009. In FY 2011 we anticipate increasing Iraq's total number of pediatric cardiac surgeries to at least 719 (or another 19% over FY 2010 directly attributable to our surgeons and our training).

Each year the local teams with which we work will become more proficient, and each year they will independently take on a larger case load than they could have the year before. None of these figures yet account for that additional output.

In March 2010 the Iraqi Ministry of Health asked us to expand our work to three additional sites. In May 2010 we began additional discussions about establishing a fellowship program in which international surgeons and nurses would take up residence in the Iraqi system to train locally for 40 weeks out of the year.

Our model does not rely strictly on volunteers because the level of need in Iraq outstrips what we could reasonably supply through volunteer labor alone. Accordingly, we set our budgets so as to actually contract the international surgical and nursing staff we need to accomplish our mission.

Sure, this increases the cost-per-mission (and thereby, cost-per-child) over early "mission" models in which volunteerism was idealized and training was not necessarily prioritized. But our contract labor + volunteerism model is inarguably the only way to create a nationwide quarterly training program and fellowships inside Iraq with international experts across approximately 6-8 surgical sites. Moreover, our model does not face the same sluggishness of learning that other surgery organizations suffer because we do not have the same rates of turnover; we have incredible consistency across our programs and missions. [Back to Top]

 Q: How is it possible that you can provide an open heart surgery in Iraq for less than $1,000? Is that the full cost?

A: The "less than $1k" numbers we routinely publish represent the amount in "program costs" we spend from our international donor money. The figure does not necessarily account for every single management, overhead, or fundraising expense.

Our total expenditures for FY 2010 were $188,919. We performed 82 surgeries during the same period for a per child total of $2,304 (though this data is a bit moot moving into 2010-11 as we abandon our very expensive "surgery exports" program(s) in Turkey, etc. and focus henceforth on more cost-effective in-country surgeries alone).

When all of our Remedy Mission partners are taken into consideration - including the Iraqi Government, medical companies that donate medicines and supplies, and local organizations - the real Remedy Mission cost to all donors is in the range of $5,400 - $7,000. Put another way, up to 85% of the total cost of a single surgical/training mission is now subsidized by local, Iraqi constituent institutions. [Back to Top]

 Q: So is that the same thing as saying that my donation doesn't really make a difference? That the "up to 85%" funded locally by those inside Iraq is all that is really necessary to make this work?

A: There is not a single site across Iraq for which our Remedy Missions are fully funded. If we fail to provide our 15-19% of the overall budget, Remedy Missions fail, surgeons and nurses do not get trained regularly, on-site audits from our international team do not happen, up to 20 children are delayed from receiving surgery, and a few may even die or become inoperable. Your role in funding the remaining 15-19% is as critical in the short term as any other entity. A single Remedy Mission is binary - it either happens or it doesn't. Your money makes it happen. But our goal is to continue to graduate all our programs so they are 100% funded locally in the next 5-10 years. [Back to Top]

 Q: Any other costs?

A: Our numbers per Remedy Mission do not account for "indirect costs," such as the cost (or value) of our volunteer medical staff from around the world, costs to local healthcare systems, the cost of a family to travel to the surgery site, the opportunity costs of lost income for families as they wait for surgery, etc. The reason we think it's important to note this here is because lifesaving is actually quite difficult. Building a pediatric cardiac surgery system for the entire country of Iraq is laborious and full of complexities. [Back to Top]

 Q: What is the bottleneck to more surgeries: money or skilled labor?

A: People often assume that the biggest need is more Iraqi heart surgeons. We could use a few more, but the real bottleneck is skilled nurses, technicians, and non-surgical physicians. A surgeon is only as good as his support staff. One of our biggest challenges is training pediatric cardiac intensive care nurses. To date, we haven't found a better model than our Remedy Missions through which we bring quarterly hands-on training to local nurses (and surgeons) in Iraq. Rather than exporting the nurses to Europe or the USA for training (whose medical systems barely resemble the Iraqi system), we train them with what they have on hand in their local environment. [Back to Top]

 Q: I'm skeptical of non-profits and charities because they always seem to be asking for more money. How can I be sure that Preemptive Love Coalition has "room for more funding" and that I'm not paying into a huge savings account, "Rainy Day Fund", or something similar?

A: For the record, we are skeptical of non-profits as well! In 2012 PLC needs $350,000 on hand at any given time to cover our cash flow needs for up to three Remedy Missions per quarter. We are still 30% under-funded against that goal. In addition to cash flow needs, we still require 15-19% funding on most of our missions after local sources contribute their portion; we have un-funded pilot programs in new cities where local doctors have been requesting our help (but where weve yet to woo local philanthropists or health directors); and we have research and social service initiatives through our Followthrough program that require funding at present because we have not yet sought local funding for those initiatives (seeing as how they relate mostly to our Monitoring & Impact Evaluation objectives). Please see our "Funding Gap" page to look deeper into our anticipated program costs, the sources of funding we are counting on, and the funding gap between the two for the next few years. [Back to Top]

 Q: Do you have enough volunteer surgeons available for unfunded Remedy Missions? (i.e., are there trips that you could fund if you had more money, or is there a labor bottleneck?)

A: Great question! We use a hybrid volunteer/staff model. Roughly 25-30% of any one of our Remedy Mission teams is employed by the International Children's Heart Foundation (typically the surgeon, scrub nurse, anesthesiologist, ICU doctor, and often a part-time ICU nurse). The remainder of the team typically comprises volunteer physicians, technicians, and nurses from across the world. Because the hardest-to-come-by positions are contract labor for us and NOT volunteers, we have never failed to run a mission for lack of personnel. We have only cancelled or turned down a request for a future mission due to lack of funding. [Back to Top]

 Q: Many heart surgeries require follow-up treatment (including additional surgeries). Do you have a way of providing these to patients?

A: Yes, we do. Our model dictates quarterly visits to each program site (a hospital inside a regional hub). Our reliance on local cardiologists ensures that the local team prioritizes and almost entirely sets the agenda for patient selection (within a development curricula) - after all, Iraqi doctors are the ones who are most intimately connected to the patients and their daily progress! When a local cardiologist sees a child who has either (1) deteriorated and requires another intervention or (2) advanced as expected to the next step of a complex, staged intervention, the child is prioritized for follow-up treatment. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeries are completed competently and appropriately?

A: Because we are a broker and play a combination administrative and financier role in the coalition of partners working in Iraq to develop pediatric cardiac care, we are able to stand in-between the local surgical team and the international surgical team (whom we contract as a third-party to train and perform surgeries in Iraq). If the local team or health directorate suspects a lack of competence in the international team, a cavalier attitude, or a single poor judgement call, our role is to be the go-between - to be the advocate for the local healthcare providers vis-a-vis the international surgical team.

Similarly, if the international surgical team feels pushed by the local surgical team to perform procedures with which they are uncomfortable or for which they think the local system is ill-prepared, they are able to refuse children for surgery and/or use us (PLC) as a go-between.

The checks-and-balance between the two teams helps us ensure surgeries are performed in a competent, appropriate manner. [Back to Top]

 Q: What is the rate of complications during and following surgery?

A: We report our in-hospital and 60-day mortality after each Remedy Mission. You can finds those numbers here. We also produce reports after each Remedy Mission detailing the trip, including data on intraoperative complications, post-operative complications, and mortality. You can find those reports here. We are also deliberately raising the funds necessary to help us bring our various heart hospitals into compliance with the International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing Countries. If this kind of quality improvement and reporting initiative interests you, we are currently looking for financial partners for our Followthrough program. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeons are performing additional surgeries that they would have not had the funding or motivation to perform otherwise?

A: Pediatric heart surgery in Iraq is almost nonexistent without our work. There are two active programs for relatively simple surgeries (one in Erbil and one in Baghdad). Local surgeons claim that combined they perform no more than a few hundred pediatric surgeries a year. In every location where we work, pediatric heart surgery is effectively nonexistent. Therefore, every surgery performed at our program sites (both when we are present and when we are not) are "additional surgeries" that they would not have had the SKILL to perform without the FUNDING we employed to train them in their local environment. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeons are charging their patients for the surgeries you fund?

A: Because we work in public (government) hospitals - and because healthcare in Iraq is provided almost entirely free of charge - it is widely known that any cardiologist, surgeon, or administrator seeking compensation for services is acting outside of Iraqi law. [Back to Top]

 Q: Do you follow up with the surgeons you've trained to assess whether they are correctly applying their training?

A: We see them quarterly in their local environment and perform real-time audits of their skills, recollection of past training, application of new techniques, etc. Additionally, our international surgeon remains on call at any time via phone, Skype, or email for consultation. [Back to Top]

 Q: What information is available on the activities - and competence - of the surgeons you've trained?

A: Because our Remedy Mission training program only began in late 2010 - and pediatric heart surgery at our sites across Iraq is the same age - there is still relatively little independent practice to report, and therefore little data on the activities and competence of our surgeons and their teams. But as they begin performing more surgeries independently, we are trying to align each site/surgical team with the International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing Countries (a data collection and tracking initiative of Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard University). [Back to Top]

 Q: Where do surgeons work after completing training? Do they serve poor patients?

A: As of Q2 2011 there was only one private hospital in Iraq (to our knowledge) providing pediatric heart surgery (and those surgeries were on the lower end of the complexity scale). Our work does not necessarily mean to exclude private hospitals as they continue to come online and become viable options, but at present the government system has a better equipped foundation for training local surgical teams. As we look to fully graduate our local surgical teams in the next 5-10 years, we imagine that most of them will stay in the public sector for all of the stability, pensions, and benefits of loyalty provided to those who stick with it. But, undoubtedly, some will seek positions at private hospitals (assuming private hospitals are willing to invest in the requisite capital purchases necessary to establish a credible program). In the public sector, rich and poor are served alike. In the private sector, poorer patients would be at an obvious disadvantage. [Back to Top]

 Q: How much do you spend each year on "program" expenses and how much on "overhead?"

A: As a rule, we do not adhere to the model that claims that "overhead" is somehow bad and "program" is somehow good. There are very bad program expenses. There are overhead expenses that are excellent investments. We agree with Paul Brest, President of the Hewlett Foundation, when he said, "Achieving a low overhead ratio drives many charities to behaviors that make them less effective and means more, not less, wasted dollars." Therefore, we spend as much on overhead as we need to accomplish our mission. The mission itself is our North Star - not arbitrary (even harmful) standards about overhead-vs-program expenditures. For the record, however, you can find a current pie chart of our expenditures here (and if you're into that sort of thing, you'll probably be impressed!). [Back to Top]

Jeremy Courtney Founder, Executive Director Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney

“I'd love to hear any critique or questions you might have!”

DROP A NOTE OR DONATION BY MAIL: Preemptive Love Coalition 1300 Darbyton Dr. Hewitt, TX 76643 GIVE BY PHONE: To make a gift over the phone, using your credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover), please call +1 (806) 853-9131 during normal business hours. IRAQ OFFICE: +964 770-355-6298 (local)

Baby Leah is Developing Nicely as We Anticipate a July Surgery Outside Iraq

April 30, 2010 by Jessica · Leave a Comment 

Visiting Leah’s house this week was so much fun. She is developing well and her parents continue to work with her everyday to help her struggle through her Down Syndrome. We gave her some stacking rings, which she picked up and chewed and wore as bracelets while playing with her older sister, Dia, who is two years old.

A few weeks ago Leah’s mom watched me with a careful eye taking in everything I was doing with Leah. She then repeated it all after me to get Leah to engage in play rather than just lay still – which is going to be such a critical part of her development. Now, thanks to this simple modeling session and her mother’s diligence to practice and work with her, Leah can now roll over, sit up with little support, grab and hold toys and giggle about it all.

She is gaining weight steadily and should be just the right size for her surgery in July.

Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking.

Shwan Is Growing So Fast Now That His Heart is Repaired!

April 29, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Photo by Heber Vega

It’s been awhile since we visited Shwan in his village near Ranya in northern Iraq after sending him to a much-needed surgery in May 2009. He has officially “graduated” from our Family Followthrough program and has grown a great deal, re-engaged in school, and increased his activity out in the streets and parks with other boys his age. He’s a soccer (football) fanatic – he even brought his favorite trading cards with him to surgery last May!

The free flow of oxygenated blood throughout his body now that the hole in his heart has been closed has allowed for much more physical energy and brain energy. He seems to really enjoy school now – his father is a mathematics teacher!

We do not do our work her so that we will be thanked or praised. But it sure does feel nice when people appreciate the efforts expended on their behalf and for their well-being. That’s one of the reasons that it is such a joy to visit Shwan’s family: they are genuinely grateful and it shows.

Photo by Heber Vega

The occasion for our visit had a lot to do with our friend Lawan Hawizy in London and his efforts to run in the Paris Semi Marathon to raise money for other kids like Shwan. Lawan’s brother, Salan, traveled with us to inspect our work and our relationships with the families so that he could help inform Lawan’s fundraising efforts and work himself as a Kurd in northern Iraq to raise money for some of these children. After our visit Lawan went on to run (and finish!) the Paris Semi and raised $2,000 for our February Surgery Group.

Many thanks to all who have given so that dear children like Shwan can enjoy their childhood, can see firsthand the benefits of learning to give your time and resources away so that others might benefit, and can learn of a world where hate is not the only option.

NEXT IN LINE FOR SURGERY

Unlike so many kids we see, Bawar has a condition that makes him a great candidate for a total correction. If we are able to send him to surgery in the next three months, he has a great chance of living a totally normal life. Bawar will hopefully be the 62nd child for whom we’ve provided surgery with your help! As you’ve seen with Shwan above, you really can make a profound difference in his life!

Do you intend on volunteering your time in the near future? May we suggest three ways to volunteer your time with the Preemptive Love Coalition to save children’s lives in Iraq:
	1.) Sign up for our newsletter to stay apprised of news and ways you can advocate on behalf of Bawar and others to save lives in Iraq. Name: Email:
	2.) Write a blog post, email, or old-fashioned snail mail letter to your friends alerting them to the situation facing Bawar and let them know that there are solutions available that yield results as fantastic as Shwan’s!
	3.) Send out a “tweet” or a message about us on Facebook, suggesting your friends check out Bawar’s opportunity to receive lifesaving heart surgery. (HINT: You can also use the “SHARE” button below.
	For more volunteering ideas send an email to cody@preemptivelove.org. To give, please use the fast and simple form below.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney.

The Discipline of Listening

April 28, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

“Iraq will become a country, if it has not already done so, where it is advisable not to have children,” says the Iraq Minister of Women’s Affairs, before speaking of a gravedigger in Fallujah who digs 4-5 graves daily for children, most of whom are deformed. While official numbers say the overall incidence congenital birth defects is only up “2-3 per year,” there is strong evidence to the contrary.

What should our response be when scientists and medical professionals suggest the chemicals comprising Coalition weapons used throughout the war left behind a legacy of newborns with scales for skin, two heads, spina bifida, or wreckage where the heart should be? It conjures memories of Saddam Hussein’s use of chemical weapons on the Kurdish and Shi’a populations of Iraq, which also left a heightened incidence of birth defects still prevalent today. When we add intra-family marriage and underdeveloped prenatal care to the equation, the questions of value-based impact in Iraq become overwhelming:

What constitutes high-impact for children born with congenital disorders? Are palliative, non-corrective interventions an advisable investment? Is a policy that selects only those who are most-likely to receive a “total correction” preferable? Is that fair? Is it right? Does it say something about our values when we invest in one over another?

When financial and human resources are limited, we are thrown quickly into a life-and-death discussion in which we not only triage children; we triage our very values.

Most everyone agrees “women and children first.” But if every child cannot be served, how should we spend our finite resources to make the most significant impact? What values should guide us?

It’s a highly personal question. But it should also be a communal question. We should not be left to our best individual guesses, nor guided by our whims and fancies. We should not fail to think about impact, priority, and purpose in our giving and serving. Research shows that most give for personal reasons before giving for the sake of others (and, I’d suggest that there is little wrong with that… see article one, two, and three). I might give to assuage my guilt or to be a part of something significant. I might give because I believe it is fundamental to my faith. I might give because I want my children to be marked by a character of deference. And, yes, I might even give because I want children in Iraq to live; to know that I was a part of that; to know my life matters.

But in order for me to really know my gift matters – that is, to be sure that my gift is significant beyond making me feel significant – I must understand the context of the problems I seek to solve with my giving. That is why the Discipline of Listening is crucial for any act of giving to be an act of love. The impulse to give may arise first in my heart from my need to feel significant, but an act becomes truly loving when it moves beyond personal preference and seeks to maximally benefit the recipient. And in order to know what benefits the community of recipients, we have to listen well.

In Iraq we face this every day. In whom should we invest our limited resources: (a) the child with the best story, (b) the child with the highest urgency, (c) the child with the greatest likelihood of long-term vitality? We’ve arrived at our values through years of listening to the community we serve–and we are constantly reevaluating them. So when it comes to selecting a child for lifesaving heart surgery, we live in the tension between our impulse to be “last chancers” and our instinct to be “long termers.” But we prioritize according to a regularly scrutinized impact matrix derived from the Discipline of Listening.

When facing 24,000+ children in Iraq waiting in-line for lifesaving heart surgery*, there is great risk in rushing to action, which can lead to an unnecessary duplication of services, redundancy of resources, and – most critically – the failure to leverage indigenous passion toward long-term, local solutions.

But when we practice the discipline of listening in our local and global communities, we increase the likelihood that our actions will not only be well-intentioned, but that they will actually be effective and loving.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Leena Returns to Iraq without Surgery

April 27, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

An shot from Leena’s catheter procedure revealing a misdiagnosis and heightened risk for surgery and post-operative course.

It was not an easy decision – and only the second time we’ve ever made it – but a misdiagnosis in Iraq brought us to a fork in the road in Istanbul: (a) take on a high-risk, complicated surgery with a long post-operative course or (b) use the limited resources we have at our disposal to provide a higher impact, less risky surgery for other children waiting in line.

These are not decisions that are easy enough to summarize in a few sentences. These are not “one-for-one” tradeoffs and the complexities can bring otherwise decisive, Type-A people to a complete deadlock. Leena is dear to us, irreplaceable to her family, and precious in the sight of GOD. But there are times when providing surgery for one feels like an act of treason against another. In our case, Leena was a last minute, highly urgent, highly complicated surgery who applied in the midst of our attempts to fulfill previous commitments to less complicated, less risky, more predictable children.

It broke our hearts and we made the decision slowly over 4-5 days through many tears and prayers. But in the end, we sent Leena back to Iraq.

We contacted our friends at Brothers Together and asked them to consider Leena for surgery and found out that her cardiologist and Kurdistan Save the Children in Iraq had already made the appeal as well. We are very grateful to them for filling in for the family at a time when we were unable.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Sara is Doing Great Back in Iraq One Month After Surgery

April 25, 2010 by Jessica · Leave a Comment 

Sara and her father came by our office on their way to a check-up with the local cardiologist, Dr. Aso Faeq.

It was a joy to see her and talk with her. She is doing great and is enjoying a little time off from school. We talked about picnics and the results of recent elections. They told us in detail of their visits to Deelan’s family, who also went to surgery in March. They amazed me with their love for this little boy they didn’t even know until they met at the airport on their way to Istanbul. It is great to see healed hearts, bright futures, and relationships formed (and/or sustained) across some recent – and some more historic – barriers between Turkmen, Kurd and Arab in the city of Kirkuk.

We ended our time with them celebrating with the fresh baklava and chocolates they brought to say “thank you.” Thanks to all of you Woodway college students Sara is alive and thriving with her newly healed heart.

Follow Sara on Twitter: @SaraMuaeed. Subscribe to Sara’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Sara’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

ADOPT A CHILD

Churches, universities, and other organized groups were the backbone of our large fundraising efforts in 2009—and now we’re looking for at least 12 churches, mosques, synagogues, universities, youth groups, etc to adopt an single Iraqi child to raise life-saving awareness and funds on his/her behalf. Group goals usually range between $5,000–10,000—though we’ve seen junior high groups raise over $8k and college students pull together $30k! Email cody@preemptivelove.org or call us at (805) 245-4870 to discuss your group adopting a child for surgery.

Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking.

In Tribute to a Fallen Friend

April 19, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

I learned yesterday that the man on the right (above) was assassinated in Baghdad by the Mehdi Militia of Moqtada al-Sadr. The man above is a friend and a partner in our efforts to wage peace in Iraq. In fact, it was his efforts to bridge gaps and stand down oppression that earned him the array of bullets and bombs that finally took his life at the hands of his enemies.

This is not a post to celebrate the Preemptive Love Coalition, me, or anyone other than the countless thousands of brave men and women in Iraq who face down these petulant bullies every day and get virtually no credit; no headline stories; no Facebook pages dedicated to their efforts; no trending topics on Twitter; no books written about their peaceful hearts or comparisons to Mother Teressa or Mohandas Gandhi.

I knew him as Abu Namis or “The father of Namis” – a typical way to be known in Iraq. So it was immediately striking. When I learned of his death, I thought of Namis, now fatherless because his dad worked across the aisle with a vision that far exceeded the atrophied imagination of his opponents.

The photo above is taken from my first meeting with him. The other two men in the picture – who are currently alive & well today الحمد لله – are sheikhs with whom we have worked to help children receive the heart surgeries they’ve needed. All three of these men are Sunni, but like so many un- and under-reported similar groups in Iraq, these men do not bow to the minority who argue for violence between Sunnis and Shi’as.

In that first meeting the man second from the right seemed stand-offish and suspicious. This photo itself seemed more an act of obligation than something born from a genuine desire to mark a memorable meeting after forging the beginnings of a partnership to take children to Turkey in conjunction with their Baghdad-based organization. But when the camera turned off, I put my hand on his shoulder and apologized for the things that had happened to his children, his neighbors, and his countrymen here in Iraq.

We frequently talk about the need to avoid lazy generalizations. All Arabs, Muslims, and Iraqis are not this way or that way. Nor am I America or Christianity. But I can apologize for myself – and I can do it honestly – because the truth is that I didn’t initially have many objections to a lot of the terrible things that happened in Iraq. But that was before “these people” had real names, real stories, and real lives in my eyes.

In an instant, that apology seemed to unlock his heart.An hour has passed inside our poorly lit apartment office and then – for the first time – he took off his glasses. He had seen me for an hour – but I had not been allowed to see him, hiding under a keffiyeh and sun shades. But now I was allowed in. I was still an outsider – but at least an outsider with a heart. And with the glasses off he looked at me and said “Thank you” as tears started coming down.

I’m not trying to be dramatic. But an assassination of a man I knew to be kind and who genuinely desired peace for his people is, in and of itself, dramatic! My main goal here is to honor his memory. To say what the newspapers likely won’t. And to let Abu Namis stand as a representative of so many other unsung Iraqi heros. There are too many to celebrate. And like Abu Namis, many of them pay the price every day.

In the Fall we will begin our first tour of America. We will be talking more about these stories, about Iraqi peacemakers, Muslim peacemakers, and Christians peacemakers; and about how these principles are deeply relevant to your friendships, your marriages, and your engagement with the world around you, and about how you can live a similar life – even when the stakes may not seem as high.

Until then, may GOD do something to amazing and unpredictable to intervene in the current course of events in IRAQ. Peace was GOD’s idea long before it was ours.

Peace from Iraq,

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Baby Leena Leaves Iraq for Urgent Surgery in Turkey

April 14, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

It was about mid-morning on Sunday when Leena’s dad came into our office, frantically looking for help for his daughter who was dying before his eyes from her congenital heart defect.

We contacted our partners in Istanbul at the Anadolu Medical Center and they concurred: it might be too late for Leena, now 50 days old, but if there was any remaining chance she should come immediately.

With unprecedented speed we worked with Leena’s father and their extended family to get Leena to surgery. The family and friend network rallied quickly sold their car and rallied with a total of $10,000. Within just a few hours we were able to get our local staff, Leena, and her mother on the very last seats out of Iraq on Tuesday’s flight to Istanbul.

The picture above is Leena’s last moments with her father before leaving him to go back to the village where he is 8 year old Mohammed Star’s elementary school teacher, whom we sent to surgery in November 2009.

Are you looking for a way to get involved? Let us suggest the following three actions: - Sign up for our newsletter to stay apprized of news and deals on stuff you can buy to save lives in Iraq. Name: Email: - Send out a “tweet” or a message about us on Facebook, suggesting your friends check out these dear Iraqi kids. - Give your time or money. Both save lives! For volunteering, send an email to cody@preemptivelove.org. For life-saving tee shirt, shoes, and scarf purchases, head over to our Buy Shoes. Save Lives. store for our 25% OFF SPRING SALE. For donating money, please use the fast and simple form below.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Sozyar Admitted to Hospital in Iraq for Pneumonia; Treatment Going Well

April 11, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Sweet little Sozie is back in the hospital this week with pneumonia. Her heart is doing well but she will be in the children’s hospital here for a few weeks receiving a strong antibiotic by IV and with a chest tube in until her lungs are clear.

Our family services team is checking in on her and she is doing well despite the infection. We have been in contact with our surgeon in Istanbul who says she should be well soon and the protocol our local pediatrician and cardiologist are following now is what she needs.

We hope she will be feeling better soon. Until then, she is in her bed asking for kisses on her feet and blowing kisses herself to everyone who comes to visit. We can’t wait to visit her at home. We know she must be very tired of hospital beds after these last two months. Despite all of this, her family is taking great care of her fighting to make sure she has all she needs to feel better soon.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney.

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Preemptive Love Coalition provides lifesaving heart surgeries for Iraqi kids in pursuit of peace between communities at odds. We offer the 30,000 Iraqi children suffering from life-threatening heart defects a chance at the surgery they need to save their lives. With our world-class international surgical partners we create long-term solutions by training local Iraqi doctors and nurses so they can sustainably save lives without our help.

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