An Interactive Graphic Overview of What We’ve Been Up to for the Last Few Years
August 23, 2009 by Jeremy · 496 Comments
Drag and drop and click and scroll and comment and push and play your way through some of our [online] activity from the last year.
Special Features of Note:
Be sure to Click on Map>Play Events for a Worldwide Conversation of Sorts Between Our Offices Around the World
View fullscreen below for more room to play around!
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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. |
Banquet & Carnival in Iraq Celebrates Hope & A Future for Twenty of Our PLC Alumni Kids
August 20, 2009 by Jeremy · 25 Comments

Eight year old Ahmad was on the brink of death when we met him. Now he’s rambunctious and carries his little sister all around the place!

Turkey Director, Scott Bertrand, with Hospitality Coordinator, Abby Bertrand, and Rezhin’s family.

Physical Therapist and Family Advocate, Ruth Simpson, at the banquet.

Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney, with Roman and his father amidst the fun and games.

PLC 2009 Summer Intern, Joshua Gigliotti, and Mohammed
Dear Preemptive Lovers,
In the midst of our most recent series of life-saving surgeries being conducted in Istanbul, Turkey for Iraqi kids we wanted to pause on the drama and reflect for a moment on what you’ve helped us do in the past year together. To date you’ve helped us give 44 children the surgeries they so seriously needed and we’ve raised/given away over $250,000.
In celebration of this we hosted our second annual PLC Alumni Kids Banquet on July 17, 2009 in Iraq for all of the children we’ve served between August 2008 and June 2009. We had over twenty families in attendance, a small team of volunteers from a church in Texas that helped fund the banquet, and 8 summer interns from all over the U.S. We also had special guests from the local community, including renowned artists, political players, and medical professionals.
But the stars were, of course, the children themselves. What a joy it was to see little boys with brand new soccer balls – a gift that would have previously been something of a cruel joke for most of these boys. The girls came decked out in the party attire and the children were showered with thousands of dollars in gifts from supporters in the States.
It’s been a great year (we just missed announcing our second organizational birthday amidst the flurry of activity) and it’s hard to believe that we’re able to live out this dream. And we wouldn’t be able to without you… So here’s to you and the kids you’ve helped. It’s a joy to be a facilitator of your love and kindness in the world.
For Hope & Future,
Jeremy Courtney
Executive Director
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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. |
Tarza Leaves Jordan
December 3, 2008 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
This was Rezhin and Tarza‘s last week in Jordan. These two girls are just precious and full of life. Every day they’ve talked about when they would get to go home to see their families. You could see the anticipation growing in them each day and never would have imagined that these two girls running around playing, recently had had heart surgery. It’s exciting to think who they will become as they return home with new hearts.
They are deeply appreciative for the nurturing care they’ve received from the staff here and truly love the women here. They made thank you notes in their Sorani dialect for some of the staff thanking them and making sure they knew they would be missed. Last night they even invited Donna to share one last meal with them before preparing to leave.
Everyone woke up this morning freshly cleaned and with their best clothes on. Packing must have begun last night, leaving things only to be tidied up today. After waiting several hours, we all loaded up in the van mid-afternoon to start the journey home. It was a beautiful day, providing for a nice drive and great views of the country. Once at passport control things went fairly smoothly and they were able to make a couple of quick purchases from the Duty Free Shop before going outside to wait for the bus.
Sadly they faced a long wait on the other side of the border crossing, making what was already a long day that much longer. After a quick nap, they’ll awake early in the morning to head to the airport to return home.
What a privilege it has been to meet these two beautiful girls. How grateful we are that they have many more years of health and life ahead of them!
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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. |
Excellent Echo Report, Fun With Beads
November 24, 2008 by Jeremy · 603 Comments
Tarza got an excellent report after her echo, and although her mother was hoping to be able to leave after today, Dr. Tamir said Tarza should come back in one week for the final echocardiogram. We are thankful for this good report, and expect Tarza will be on schedule to go home early next week.
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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. |
A Very Good Report
November 17, 2008 by Jeremy · 464 Comments
We made our way to the hospital this morning for Tarza and Rezhin
‘s follow-up echos. After waiting nearly an hour, each girl was taken in for her echo. Afterwards, the report was that they are doing really well. Neither of the girls has any sign of water in her lungs, nor are they on any medications, only vitamins.
After they left the echo they met up with Ali and his father as they were walking outside. Both mothers and daughters sat outside with Ali and rejoiced with Ali’s father. Both Tarza and Rezhin will have another echo next Monday.
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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. |
Tarza Recovering
November 16, 2008 by Jeremy · 399 Comments
I went to the hospital yesterday to bring Tarza
and Rezhin back to the house.
They were ready to leave when I got there. The trip went well, the taxi driver was very pleasant, he couldn’t speak english and he called another taxi driver over to translate to him what I was saying, they also told us to have a good journey. The girls are doing great and were glad to get back to the house. Lawk and his mom were also glad to see them. The hospital will let us know when they go for their echocardiogram.
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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. |
Out Of ICU, Munching Doritos
November 11, 2008 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Today, I found both Tarza and Rezhin out of the ICU and in the ward. While I was visiting this afternoon the girls were munching on Doritos and peanut M&M’s. It seems as if they are on their way to a full recovery.
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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. |
Surgery Went Well, Without Complications
November 10, 2008 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Tarza had her surgery this morning. Tarza’s mother was nervous and was crying. Ali’s father and Rezhin‘s mother were with her. While we were waiting to see Tarza after her surgery, they wanted to go to lunch, so we went to the cafeteria and ate. Later went to drink tea. They had not let Tarza’s mother see her yet. It was a good while.
Ali’s father had gone in to see Ali in the ICU, and stayed for awhile. When he came out, he told Tarza’s mother to go in, so she did. When she came out she was crying. Even though we can’t understand each other’s language, I still have that compassion of a mom.
When I went in to see Tarza, I asked the doctor how Tarza’s surgery turned out. He said very well, with no complications. By the time I left, Tarza was awake and alert.
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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. |
Surgery Scheduled For Tomorrow
November 9, 2008 by Jeremy · 2 Comments
We received a surprise telephone call this evening from the hospital telling us to bring Rezhin and Tarza, and that they would have surgery tomorrow.
The mothers speak only Kurdish but Ali’s father is there to help with the translation. His calmness and attention helps them to have a peace they might not have if he weren’t there.
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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. |
Tarza Arrives In Jordan
November 4, 2008 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Late this afternoon we welcomed Rezhin and her mother, along with Tarza and her mother. We’d hoped to receive them Sunday evening but needed to wait until today. Once here at the house, we were all thankful to have Sara‘s father to help us communicate with one another. Neither of these mothers speak Arabic or English, so we’re really hoping that translation will be available for all of us during their stay here.
Tonight at the house the three little girls (Rezhin, Tarza and Sara) are all feeling shy, and therefore have not yet begun to play together. Since Rezhin will not have her first echo until Thursday, we’re hoping that they will enjoy playing with one another in the morning after a good night’s sleep.
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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. |










