Erin Wilson 
There are children who had such sick hearts… they couldn’t walk to school who are now bright, active members of their community.
There are families who had no idea what they would do after ISIS drove them from their homes, no idea how they would feed their families.
Now they are running small businesses and finding their feet!
In a place like Iraq, the needs are so great it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, paralyzed. How do we choose, and what is most effective?
You are able to have such a tangible impact in places where most are unwilling to go because of partners who have vision, who aren’t afraid of a challenge. This month, as we take time to thank friends like you around the world who are remaking the world, we are highlighting some organizations making that possible.
Iraqi Health Aid Organization (IHAO) and Hala Al Saraf see beyond need and identify the kind of aid that cascades, giving your donations the maximum impact.
When you provided water and proper toilets at the Yarmouk Shawaf Camp, it not only gave dignity to displaced families but helped to prevent a cholera epidemic.
In the north of Iraq, IHAO paired classrooms of Yazidi children traumatized by ISIS with the kind of play therapy to help them heal. More than just offering them comfort, you are giving them tools they can use for the rest of their lives.
For the backlog of children waiting for heart surgeries in conflict-ridden countries like Iraq and Libya, Dr. William Novick and his Novick Cardiac Alliance teams bring medical talent to heal hearts and train up the next generation of doctors and nurses.
Healing patients is important and necessary work! But partnering with NCA allows you to help create–over time–skilled and sustainable local medical care that won’t need foreign assistance.
Yazda are new partners who are uniquely positioned to provide relief aid, trauma counselling, education, and Empowerment small business grants to Iraq’s Yazidi community. Yazidis have been targeted by ISIS in a unique way—through displacement, enslavement, and death. You are serving some of the most vulnerable families because of their local knowledge.
Together we are able to bring change to conflict zones, one heart at a time. We are so grateful for organizations like these who are willing to take the kind of risks that bring change!
