Empowering 80 people with disabilities in Iraq

Due to Covid-19 we were not able to continue our project and had to put it on hold for several months. Recently restrictions have been eased in the Kurdish Region of Iraq and we relaunched our project. We received extra funds from GlobalGiving and the first thing we did was providing the families we serve a food and hygiene kit as a Covid-19 response. We were able to provide kits for 65 families spread over 7 camps. The packages differed in size tailored to the number of family members and based on the family's income. We asked how each client has been doing and we were able to hear their stories and encourage them.

For many this season has been difficult as their income has decreased. Some families work in the fields and because of lockdowns were not able to sell their crop for a good price. Others could not work at all during lockdowns or lost their jobs. One family had hardly any food left and finished their last rice a few days before we came. Imagine the joy of this family when they received 20 kilos of rice plus other food items.

Now it's time to continue our physical therapy program. Unfortunately due to Covid-19 we cannot start our peergroups bringing different clients and their families together. However, we can visit them apart from each other in their homes and work on their physical improvement and bring encouragement. It has been encouraging to see that some clients have improved quite a bit physically since the last time we met. We'll continue to come along side working for better integration into their community.