Heal Iraqi Children

Letter from the founder of American Aid for the Children of Nineveh, Iraq

2005-12-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

Here is a letter by David McCorkle, the founder of of this charity, as found in their website, http://www.iraqkids.org . In it he describes the situation under which children live in Nineveh, Iraq. Please pay attention to the description of the conditions of the children.

I am a United States Army soldier currently serving in Iraq. Almost constant wars and hardships created by sanctions have placed a heavy burden on a large segment of the population of Iraq. The additional effects of a 30 yearlong cruel and repressive regime have taken a huge toll on the Iraqi people.

People in the Nineveh area in northern Iraq were systematically brutalized by the former Iraqi regime. The people of Nineveh include Turkmen, Kurds, Arabic and Christian. Kurds and Turkmen in particular were targets of Saddam’s cruelty. Turkmen and Kurdish men, women and children were subjected to gassing, murder and rape by the former regime.

The horrible atrocities committed over the last 30 years in Iraq have had many effects on the people. In many ways the ones most harmed by the situation in Iraq are the children.Many children have lost their fathers during these times and over the course of the various wars leaving them orphaned. Even children with mothers remaining are subjected to extreme poverty due to cultural factors making it difficult for women to find work.

Small children are compelled to leave school to work or beg on the streets to try and support their families. Government services or support to help these children are non-existent. Insufficient food, water, clothing and medicine as well as poor living conditions affect these children daily. Longer-term effects from lack of schooling will weigh on these children for a lifetime.

In spite of their circumstances the children of Northern Iraq are intelligent, friendly, energetic and delightful kids.A small amount of monthly support can have an immediate and lasting positive impact on these children. Providing money for food, clothing and medicine to orphaned families can allow small children to quit working on the streets and to return to school. The long-term effects are that these kids can have a better future where they can apply their natural abilities to make Iraq and the world a better place.

David McCorkle
Tall 'far Iraq
Founder of AA-CNI

www.Iraqkids.org

2005-12-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

I found this excellent charity while researching online:

American Aid for Children of Nineveh, Iraq

This non-profit was founded in 2003 by two American soldiers. Their goal, in their own words,

The primary purpose of AA-CNI is to provide supplemental income to families of working children in Iraq in return for mandatory school attendance. The motto of AA-CNI is “Education Is Liberation”. AA-CNI believes that education for all the children is essential to the successful establishment of democracy in Iraq. A secondary purpose of AA-CNI is to help schools in the Nineveh Province of Iraq. AA-CNI will help schools by providing money for supplies, workbooks and other needs such as new desks. AA-CNI will give priority to schools where AA-CNI assisted children are also attending.

Please visit the site, learn more about it, and help if you can,

http://www.iraqkids.org/

One picture of Iraq

2005-12-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

This is a map of Iraq. Some may be very familiar with it. Some may not. Some may have seen quick glances of it on the news.

Please look at this map for a short moment.

A little bit, can go a long long way

2005-12-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

If everyone who visits this page would donate something (a dollar at least) to help Iraqi children, then you would be helping to give them a better future. They would know that someone over here, cares about them. I know that most people can afford to give something. So why not? Even a dollar would help out greatly. If you say: "I would love to, but I don't have time", then basically you are contradicting yourself and saying: "I would love to but I don't care enough to help children who need this money more than me".

Be a good Samaritan, and help those who need it.

Hunger and malnutrition among Iraqi Children

2005-12-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

Iraqi children have been suffering of malnutrition for decades now. A simple search on google using the term "Iraqi Children" give several links that discuss the issue of malnutrition.

The Iraqi War has made things worse.

On December 6 of this year, the BBC reported the following news. These are the opening paragraphs:

Increasing numbers of children in Iraq do not have enough food to eat and more than a quarter are chronically undernourished, a UN report says.
Malnutrition rates in children under five have almost doubled since the US-led invasion - to nearly 8% by the end of last year, it says.
The report was prepared for the annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4395525.stm

A year ago, the Washington Post carried this story:

Children Pay Cost of Iraq's Chaos

Malnutrition Nearly Double What It Was Before Invasion

By Karl Vick
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, November 21, 2004; Page A01

BAGHDAD -- Acute malnutrition among young children in Iraq has nearly doubled since the United States led an invasion of the country 20 months ago, according to surveys by the United Nations, aid agencies and the interim Iraqi government.

After the rate of acute malnutrition among children younger than 5 steadily declined to 4 percent two years ago, it shot up to 7.7 percent this year, according to a study conducted by Iraq's Health Ministry in cooperation with Norway's Institute for Applied International Studies and the U.N. Development Program. The new figure translates to roughly 400,000 Iraqi children suffering from "wasting," a condition characterized by chronic diarrhea and dangerous deficiencies of protein.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A809-2004Nov20.html

The connection between Katrina and Iraq

2005-12-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Pictures are better at explaining this than words:

If you want to learn more about Katrina relief, please visit this the following site.

http://katmacva.tripod.com/operationcoastalcheer/

Unicef's helps Iraqi children

2005-12-07T12:15:00.001-08:00

Here is the opening statement for the unicef page on Iraqi children. I will be posting sections of their website, highlighting what I feel are important issues.

Please notice that most of the Iraqi population are under the age of 18. Half of the nation are children.

The children of Iraq have been caught up in war for the third time in 20 years. Although a clear picture of the impact of the fighting on civilians has yet to emerge, UNICEF is deeply concerned by the deteriorating conditions facing children in the country.

Almost half of Iraq’s total population is aged under 18. Even before the conflict began, many children were highly vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. One in four children aged under five is chronically malnourished. One in eight die before their fifth birthday.

http://www.unicef.org/emerg/iraq/

2005-12-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.unicef.org/emerg/iraq/

Ways you can help

2005-12-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

There are many ways you can help. Of course the most obvious way to help is to donate money to one of the sites on the main page of this blog. or any other site that helps to heal Iraqi children. You can also help by spreading the word. You can tell others about the need to help these children.
And most importaintly, they need your prayers.

You can make much more than a difference

2005-12-06T09:11:00.001-08:00

Defeating terrorism is currently among the top priorities of most countries around the world. While opinions differ in terms of how the world's most powerful and influential nations should deal with this phenomenon, most people of all races, religions, and political stripes agree it is very important to reach the children of the Islamic world before the terrorists win another generation over to their perverted beliefs.

Since the United States toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraq has become a focal point for both the international community and the terrorists. More attacks have been carried out against Iraqi citizens than in all other regions of the world combined. These attacks have strengthened the beliefs of those who condemn terrorism, but they have also given many terrorists - Abu Musab al'Zarqawi, for example - more power and influence.

When you decide to help an Iraqi child, you are actually putting yourself on the front lines in the struggle to contain and defeat terrorism. The little boy or girl you help will forever remember someone, somewhere in the Western world, cared about their lives, saw value in their existence, and gave them hope for the future. This will have an unimaginably positive effect in a young life crippled by the effects of the poverty, war, and suffering.

Ali Abbas was 12-years-old when a missle struck his family home in Iraq, killing his parents and eight other relatives, and leaving his body in pieces. In a country where many families can barely afford to keep food on the dinner table, he would never have had a chance at a happy, successful life. While it might have taken a few days for a terrorist to design a suicide belt which Ali could detonate himself, it will take years to ensure this child is a well-adjusted, emotionally healthy individual equipped to contribute positively to Iraqi society. It is a challenge the world accepted.

Ali was brought to London where he was given prosthetic arms, the cost of which was covered by an Indian family. Today he still receives letters of support from people across the Western world is rapidly developing into a charming, charismatic young man. Ali Abbas could just as easily been a blip on the evening news - the boy with no arms who blew himself up at a Shi'ite mosque, or the injured Iraqi boy who lured American soliders into an ambush. It was the generosity of people similar to you who helped Ali find another path.

This is just one of the many reasons to help the children of Iraqi in any way you are capable of doing so. It is the reason I have chosen to do what I can because it is, in my mind, one of the important issues facing the world at this time. For what reason will you help?

If you live in Toledo, Ohio, please help this way...

2005-12-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

TOLEDO -- A US Army sergeant from Toledo is on his second tour of duty in Iraq. While Sgt. Nicholas Mielke faces the challenges of war, he's now challenging his family and his city to make his Christmas wish come true. All he wants is a little help for a whole lot of Iraqi children.

"It just broke his heart," said Michell Spencer who is Mielke's aunt. She told us her nephew just couldn't take seeing so many Iraqi children without shoes and socks. So, Mielke made a Christmas wish to his family. Don't buy him a thing -- care for the kids. "He said they're all running around barefoot," Spencer told us.

"It's very cold. 'Don't send me anything, just send them socks and shoes'" she quoted her nephew. "I think it's very unselfish. It's a great wish," said Marvin Belknap who helps run the Island Variety convenience store in east Toledo where Mielke's mom and aunt are frequent customers at the store.

He and his wife decided to help them collect donations from the community for the Iraqi kids. "He's over there, he's defending the country. [I] thank him a lot for that and for him to say he wants to help...the children out is great," he told News 11.

The family tells us the donations can be new or used little shoes. It doesn't really matter at this point because Mielke said the need is just too big to ignore. "Anything is better than nothing," said Spencer. "Help the children. It's Christmas."

You can donate shoes and/or socks for Iraqi kids of all ages by dropping your donations off at the Island Variety Store, 722 Dearborn Avenue, Toledo, OH, 43605. It's open daily from 8am until 10pm. You can also call the store at 419-691-9277.

The socks and shoes are for children of all ages. Cash donations will also be taken at the store to help with shipping costs.

Source

Our goal: To help heal Iraqi Children injured by the War

2005-12-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

The U.S. is celebrating the Christmas season, a time of brotherhood and good will to others. This is a time that our nation has set aside to try to be friendlier, more compassionate, and more generous.

This is a greater challenge this Christmas because our last year was filled with major tragedies. Many of us feel exhausted, overextended, and emotionally drained. Many of us have started the season thinking mainly about our problems and ourselves.

So, for one moment, I ask you to step out of your problems and yourself and think about someone else.

Picture a young child. They could be your own, your younger siblings, or your nephews and nieces. They could be the neighborhood children. Think of them playing with a ball, running on a park, or eating candy.

Now picture a big explosion that causes great harm to these children. Listen to their cries emerging from the smoke. Look at them covered with blood and dust. Feel for their hands and their feet to make sure that they bodies are intact.

You have just imagined what your life would be in Iraq. And most of us can only imagine it because we can never truly grasp the living horror that siblings, parents, uncles, and aunts live through during active fighting in the Iraqi War.

Compared to them, most of us have it very easy. Let’s return Christmas true significance and let’s try to help. Let’s shed religious and political divisions. Let’s forget about our ethnicity and nationality. Let’s try to help these children this season.

We can donate our money to them. We can donate our time. We can donate our good will or our prayers. Let’s all help heal their injuries as much as we can.