Efforts represent first major humanitarian initiative by Iraqis for Iraqis Iraqi leaders including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have taken initial steps to avert an unparalleled orphan crisis by supporting the link between an Iraqi orphan initiative and two U.S.-based non-governmental organizations. The joint effort brings together Iraq-based Sponsor Iraqi Orphan Foundation (SIOF) with the Sponsor Iraqi Children Foundation (SICF) of Falls Church, Va., and The Children’s Village (CV) of New York. The two U.S.-based non-profit organizations have set a rare training session in early 2010 for Iraq’s national and community based non-governmental organizations focused on orphans. The purpose is to build high-performing organizations with a broad range of effective social service models as determined in meetings with 30 Iraqi-based orphan organizations Oct. 4 and 5, 2009. Predictions are that the unparalleled number of orphans in Iraq resulting from war and violence could cause insurmountable social problems in succeeding generations. Iraq’s estimated 2.5 million orphans means that one in 10 Iraqis is a young orphan, and yet only about 1 in 1,000 orphans receives services beyond the basics of food and shelter.
"Iraqi leaders believe their country’s orphans of today will potentially be a torrent of street beggars, criminals and even militants of tomorrow."
– Maxwell Quqa, SICF president
The great number of parentless children is the result of adult deaths during years of regime-backed human rights abuses as well as the violence in recent years stemming from sectarian and insurgent attacks. The loss of scores of male Iraqis in this paternalistic Muslim country also left multitudes of widows too destitute to care for their children. The united effort is the vision of SICF president Max Quqa and Dr. Ali AlDabbagh, a leading spokesman of the Iraqi government. In 2007, Quqa felt compassion for orphans he noticed on the streets of Baghdad and joined with an equally concerned AlDabbagh to seek solutions. Maliki voiced support on Oct. 6 in a meeting broadcast live on national Iraqi TV.
“I pledge to you to give the NGOs of Iraq all needed support. We will give you [Iraqi NGOs] a semi-official status and will do all we can to help you to remedy Iraqi orphans crisis.”
– Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki
CV will provide fundamental training on trauma recovery, child development, foster care, extended family assimilation of orphans, organizational leadership and administration.
“The most vulnerable Iraqi today – the orphan – demands our most immediate attention.”
– Jeremy Kohomban, president and CEO of Children’s Village
The October trip was made possible by generous corporate donations from Triple Canopy, The Almco Group and BH Defense.