From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


CWS ENGAGED IN IRAQ


From "Ann Walle" <awalle@churchworldservice.org>
Date Thu, 18 Mar 2004 10:23:57 -0500

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE REMAINS ENGAGED IN IRAQ

'All Our Children' Approves New Projects for Country's Youngest

NEW YORK - MARCH 16 - While debates rage over allies' presence in
Iraq, and protests mark the anniversary of the US pre-emptive strike,
Church World Service steadfastly continues its work with Iraqi youth in
targeted projects that further the health and well being of a population
that suffers through the turmoil.

In one project, Church World Service (CWS) and its consortium partners
approved repairs to the Bait al Tuful social institution, which provides
shelter and care for street children. Working with Enfants du Monde and
the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA), the institution
serves as a transitional place where children have access to education,
hygiene and protection.  

Training for MOLSA social workers on recreational and reintegration
activities is intended to ensure social reintegration for these
children. 

CWS also affirmed a proposal from the Iraqi Help and Development
Organization to provide health assessments and support for
schoolchildren.  This is the first All Our Children Campaign project
with an Iraqi non-governmental organization (NGO) and in that sense will
also help build capacity for this Iraqi sector. All Our Children is a
coalition campaign co-founded by Church World Service and other
faith-based humanitarian agencies, dedicated to serving Iraqi children.

Finally, the consortium affirmed the continuation of an All Our
Children theater project for a third three-month series.  This project
provides live theater to traumatized Iraqi children in hospitals,
orphanages, clinics and poor neighborhoods. Institution managers report
that children who were previously unresponsive became animated and
interacted with the play's characters, two cats in a dialogue about
love and war, words which sound similar in Arabic. 

The All Our Children consortium pledged to work to continue its project
support beyond the original June 2004 target date.  

"All Our Children fills a niche for helping small, highly effective
projects," says CWS Executive Director and CEO the Rev. John L.
McCullough.  "In the midst of all the bad news, on all sides, the
projects serve as valuable communication about how help can be given. 
What we see is human need, and we can help. With support, we hope to
continue the All Our Children efforts through the end of this year."
To date, the overall campaign has raised $841,748, with $410,000 of
that amount provided through CWS. As of the end of 2003, the campaign
had supported 14 projects. 
Among the most recent projects are additions to the Kerbala Pediatric
Hospital; deliveries of fresh food to orphanages and fresh water to
hospitals in Baghdad; and the provision of refrigeration and cooking
equipment to Baghdad hospitals. 
Additional All Our Children projects supported by CWS have included
local purchase of 100 beds for the Ibn Al-Aheer and Al Khassa Pediatric
Hospitals in Mosul; purchase and distribution of fresh foods for 37
hospitals in Baghdad and Basra -- enough for three meals a day for 5,000
children over a 10-day period. Also: fresh food distributions to 21
hospitals over a two-week period in April / May with supplementary
deliveries of dry food to seven hospitals and powdered milk to 18
hospitals. 
CWS has shipped nearly 15,000 "Gift of the Heart" School Kits and
16,450 "Gift of the Heart" Health Kits to Iraq for distribution this
spring. CWS "Gift of the Heart" Kits have been a centerpiece of public
awareness initiatives in the San Francisco Bay area and other
communities. 
One of the cornerstones of the CWS response was a shipment of surgical
equipment that arrived last October in Amman, Jordan, and has been
distributed in Iraq. There were over 400 cartons of equipment in the
shipment, with a total value of $1.2 million. The items have been
distributed to the following hospitals in Baghdad: the Al Kadhemia
General Teaching Hospital; the Ibn Al Bittar Cardiac Surgery Hospital;
the Al Samera'e Gynaecology Hospital; and the Al Wasiti Surgical
Hospital. 
CWS has also provided $253,000 in support to its partner agency the
Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) to support the provision of basic
and supplementary food commodities, medicines and medical material /
hospital equipment to hospitals and medical centers and shelters,
bedding, and heaters and kitchen utensils to displaced Iraqi families. 
CWS is extremely grateful to denominational funders, foundation
supporters and individual donors who have lent support to CWS efforts to
assist the people of Iraq in what has been a challenging and difficult
humanitarian environment. 
Denominational funders: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) / Week
of Compassion; the Church of the Brethren; Episcopal Relief and
Development; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA);
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA); Reformed Church in America;
United Church of Christ Wider Church Ministries; United Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR). 
Foundation supporters: the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Trull Foundation;
Shield-Ayres Foundation; The H.C. Gemmer Family Christian Foundation;
C.E. & S Foundation; Bobolink Foundation; Central Alabama Community
Foundation; Rose C. Stone Foundation; Tides Foundation; Laney-Vuaghan
Family Foundation; and the Pascall International Foundation. 
Continued support is needed for this effort. Contributions to support
this work may be sent to your denomination or to Church World Service,
P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 46515. You can also make a donation online.
Please designate for appeal # 6801 (Iraq Crisis).
Media Contacts: 
Ann Walle, CWS/New York, 212-870-2654; awalle@churchworldservice.org 
Jan Dragin, CWS, 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net 

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