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)

4 Ways You Can Stay Updated on Our Work in Iraq!

June 28, 2012 by matt · Comments Off 

Is it just me, or is this social media train about to fly off the tracks?

Post a pic to Google+, cruise through your minifeed on Facebook, retweet someone on Twitter, update your LinkedIn profile, then repin on Pinterest ’til you fall asleep at the keyboard.

I think—at least in this case—sanity demands simplicity. So we’ve honed in on 4 key ways you can get updates from us—follow them all or take your pick!

###

I hope this helps. The purpose of this post is to make our communication pipelines work for you, otherwise why are we doing all this writing and picture-taking?

So let me hear from you. Any recommendations for how we could improve our writing strategy? Are there any Social Media sites you like that we’re not using? Send me an email and let’s chat about it. Anything to get me off Twitter…

The above cartoon by Tom Fishburne. See more of his brilliant work here.

Baby Blue to Rosy Red—Two Years Later and Iman is Doing Great Thanks To You!

May 31, 2012 by Craig · Leave a Comment 

Nearly two years ago, we began our first Remedy Mission with the International Children’s Heart Foundation and Living Light International. For us it was a great risk to take. We had only sent children out of the country and, all-in-all, that model was proven. It was safe.

But thanks to your support, we were able to begin training doctors and treating children inside Iraq. And we were able to serve a little girl named Iman (along with 23 other children). Now, just under two years later, here she is:

Iman is from Dohuk where our partner doctor, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, and his team screened newborns for heart defects. Now Iman is happy and healthy, able to enjoy playing games with her friends, learning in school, and spending time with her family.

Safe at last from her childhood disease, Iman’s life is full of potential. Thank you for giving these children a future!

Mohammed Is Here For The Remedy

June 29, 2011 by Alex · Comments Off 

Today, I hesitated outside the entrance of the hospital ward in southern Iraq. Kids spend most of the day waiting for surgery in this room.

Mothers and their children filled the room, and I didn’t want to barge into a room that these families might have thought were off-limits to outsiders.

But as I stood there, recognizing that I was the outsider, looking confused and out-of-place, a 6-year-old boy named Mohammed walked up, smiled, and took my hand as if he knew exactly what I was going through.

He safely escorted me to the back of the room so I could meet the family I had come to see.

Mohammed never left my side, but just kept holding my hand and making me feel more at-ease until he felt that his duty had been completed.

We couldn’t speak to each other and even though we interacted for only a few minutes, I can’t help but to look forward to spending more time with Mohammed.

What makes me more excited is that Mohammed isn’t just here to help out this goofy foreigner; he’s here to have his failing heart restored.

He’s here for the Remedy.

The doctors are still unclear as to how complicated Mohammed’s heart condition is, but they’re beginning the tests that will help them know what needs to be done to reclaim his heart.

In the meantime, we’ll just keep waiting.

Stay tuned for more updates on Mohammed.

While you wait check out Rokya’s Mom documenting her daughter’s Remedy in Iraq on our Facebook page.

Our Partners:

Parzheen’s Strong Heart Takes Her From The ICU To The Hospital Ward!

March 9, 2011 by Cody · Comments Off 

Parzheen barely had time to get comfortable in the Intensive Care Unit before they told her she was well enough to go down to the hospital ward!

The nurses asked her if she wanted her father to carry her down to the hospital ward and she said “NO!”

She wanted to walk downstairs on her own.

She just couldn’t wait to put her new heart to the test.

Parzheen is now beginning physical therapy which is only going to help get her to the point where she can run and play for the first time with a healthy heart!

Today she invited us to her house and we said “YES!”

We’re spending as much time with her as we can but it’s always fun knowing that these relationships are only just now beginning!

How do you keep following her story?

Just keep following us on Facebook and Twitter!

If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove.



With help from our friends:

We’re About To Launch Our Fourth Remedy Mission In Iraq!

February 27, 2011 by Cody · 2 Comments 

The ICHF medical team and children who are hoping to receive life-saving heart surgeries over the next two weeks are all making their way to the local hospital to launch our FOURTH Remedy Mission in Iraq!

While Iraq is all over the headlines today for protests and rage directed towards the lack of jobs, utilities, and corruption – there are thousands of families in northern Iraq who are still fighting for their children’s lives and for better healthcare for those who were born with congenital heart disease.

Instead of taking to the streets these next two weeks, our “protest” will take place in the quiet operating room where hearts will be mended and doctors and nurses will be receiving training and education.

Instead of fiery speeches on bullhorns, nurses in the ICU will receive careful instructions on how to properly take care of children after open heart surgery.

Instead of holding signs we will be holding the hands of children in the hospital ward as they patiently wait for surgery.

Instead of only hoping for change, we will see children’s hearts changed overnight!

Remedy Missions continue to gain momentum throughout Iraq, thanks to YOU!

Stay tuned! Another one starts NOW!

If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove.



With help from our friends:

It’s Hard To Summarize How Much Of An Impact You’ve Just Made On Southern Iraq!

February 26, 2011 by Cody · Comments Off 

Remedy has officially finished its second mission in southern Iraq! (Sort of.)

16 children were served over the period of 10 days and thousands of hours of training were given to the entire local medical staff which included scrub nurses, ICU nurses, intensivists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, post-op care nurses, cardiologists, respiratory therapists AND perfusionists. (we literally can’t keep up with the hours of training given – other than knowing it’s WELL into the thousands!)

The reason this Remedy Mission has only “sort of” come to an end is because two members of the ICHF medical team stayed behind to make certain that every last child was taken care of in the ICU and to continue training the local staff.

They will join us in northern Iraq this next week where we will begin our second Remedy Mission in the Kurdish Region of Iraq!

We will continue to follow up with the children served in southern Iraq and will soon publish the medical reports which will include the surgeries performed and their results after the 30 day and 60 day post-op follow-ups.

Thanks to YOU, we’ve completed our second successful mission in the south and the local hospital is one mission closer towards becoming the remedy they need and long to be for the thousands of children in southern Iraq who have been born with congenital heart disease!

You’re making a PROFOUND impact on Iraq!

They can’t stop thanking you and neither can we! You’re the remedy!

If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove.

Our Partners

Practicing The Art (and Reviewing the Basics) Of Taking Care Of Sick Children

February 25, 2011 by Cody · 1 Comment 

“Heart surgery is an art.” Dr. William Novick, ICHF Heart Surgeon

If heart surgery is an art, then a Remedy Mission would be the art studio. It’s the place where teaching happens and inspiration is born. It’s a place where masterpieces are created alongside artists.

But it’s an art that everybody in the heart center gets to play a role in. Whereas an artist can create a beautiful piece on his own, a heart surgeon can’t perform a flawless surgery without a team around him. When they work together and finish their part, the piece is carefully passed along where it’s taken over by the nurses in the intensive care unit.

Without a strong nursing staff, the masterpiece would never be completed.

Teaching all of this is an art as well.

In the same day a local surgeon is having his skills refined as he patches a hole in a heart and the nurses in the ICU are being taught the foundations of nursing.

In the West, we have benefited from governments who have been able to spend BILLIONS on health care, education, and creating awareness about best practices, and things like hygiene from the time we were in elementary school.

At Iraq’s lowest point under Saddam, the Ba’ath regime spent less than one dollar per person on health care each year. While other parts of the world were thriving, Iraq’s health care system – along with their doctors and nurses – weren’t given what they needed to keep up.

Our Remedy Mission comes at a pivotal time in Iraq. A time where they now have the opportunity to be invest like never before.

It was sobering when we heard that little Alawi is trying to fight off a bacterial infection in his chest, something that is easily caused in an ICU which doesn’t even have a sink or soap with which to wash your hands. Don’t worry, we’re trying to work with local officials to get that retrofitted!

Through our Remedy Missions we’re helping raise up local health care systems that excel in the complex but also in the fundamentals of taking care of children.

All of it goes into creating a masterpiece.

We couldn’t do this without a coalition that cared as much about this as you do!

You’re a part of the masterpiece.

If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove.

Our Partners

You’ve Forever Impacted 16 Children This Remedy…And We Still Have Two More Days To Go!

February 22, 2011 by Cody · 1 Comment 

16 Children

That’s how many children you’ve impacted this Remedy!

Thanks to YOU, Kautha’s recovering from her successful heart surgery. Her heart defect is a thing of the past. She’s passed through the ICU. Now she’s one hour closer to going home.

16 Families

That’s how many families you’ve forever changed!

Kautha’s family has been able to rest and be at peace for the first time since before they were told Kautha had a serious congenital heart defect. She called you the “mercy of God”, because of what you did for them.

16 Stories

That’s how many stories you’ve rewritten!

Now Kautha’s mother can smile and laugh when she talks about her hopes and dreams for Kautha. Her only hope until now has been for her daughter’s heart to be whole. Now that it’s whole…her hopes and dreams have returned.

The best part is that there’s still TWO more days of Remedy left in southern Iraq!

You’ve brought us this far, now help us finish strong by spreading the love by clicking the “share” button below to post this on your Facebook Profile and Twitter account!

You’re a part of the Coalition, now invite others to join you and save lives and wage peace in Iraq!

We love doing this with you!

If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove.

Our Partners

10 Things You Need To Know You’re A Part Of When You Support Remedy

February 20, 2011 by Cody · Comments Off 

Did you know that each Remedy provides over 7,000 hours of hands on training and education for local Iraqi doctors and nurses during each two week mission?

Did you know that each medical team Remedy brings in is composed of 15 medical professionals from some of the world’s top hospitals?

Did you know that each medical team member Remedy brings in has one goal, and that’s to teach and inspire locals?

Did you know that Remedy literally trains 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from the moment it begins to the moment it ends?

Did you know that most medical team members Remedy brings in are giving up their only 2 weeks of vacation time to come and be involved in investing in the future of Iraq?

Did you know that Remedy is one of the only outside programs that is investing in the health care in Iraq by training locals where they live rather than just extracting children and operating on them overseas?

Did you know that Remedy is proving itself to be one of the most effective tools in inspiring and encouraging local Iraqi medical teams while tearing down walls of prejudices and misunderstanding between the East and the West?

Did you know that each Remedy gives local surgeons the skills and knowledge to perform surgeries they never knew how to perform before?

Did you know that in the midst of thousands of hours of training each Remedy, over twenty children are given life-saving heart surgeries each trip?

Did you know that’s what you get to be a part of each time you support Remedy?

We hope so!

Because Remedy wouldn’t be gaining momentum all across Iraq if it wasn’t for you!

Our Partners

What Would You Do If The World Was For You?

February 15, 2011 by Cody · Comments Off 

What if you lived in one of the most beautiful places on earth?

A place so beautiful and full of history that it was known for being the birthplace of civilization, the place where some say the Garden of Eden once was?

And what would you do if others came along and deliberately destroyed it all in the hopes that you would be destroyed in the process?

Right now, Remedy is taking place in a region of southern Iraq where they had to answer those questions.

Southern Iraq was once the location of some of the largest and most magnificent wetlands in the world. Today, nearly all of those wetlands have been turned into one of the greatest and most devastating environmental disasters in history.

Following the 1991 Gulf War, the Marsh Arabs, who’s lives were literally built on the marshes, rose up and united with much of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein in the hope of reclaiming their freedom. In response, Saddam blanketed the south with chemicals, land mines, and sent down engineers to drain and dam up the lifeline for the marshes.

Saddam Hussein deliberately worked against the people of southern Iraq while the world looked on.

What would you do if the world seemed to be against you?

But what would you do if the world was for you?

What if someone came alongside you and promised to work with you and for you instead of against you?

Remedy gives us the chance to do exactly that. It gives us the opportunity to save the lives of thousands while raising up pediatric heart centers across Iraq.

 

It gives us the opportunity to love.

 Will you join us? Together, we can continue to come alongside the people of southern Iraq and show them the Remedy by helping provide their children with life-saving heart surgeries and train their local doctors and nurses.

Come join us on Facebook to learn more about southern Iraq and those you’re impacting through this Remedy Mission!

Our Partners

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