HELP IRAQI CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Support Iraqi orphans and other children with disabilities.

Through the partnership with existing local social services entities, facility administrators, and other charitable organizations, ICHope helps to assess and meet the many needs and challenges facing children with disabilities. ICHope believes that every child is precious in the eyes of God and that all children deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential. Since starting this project five months ago:

1- We have registered 65 children who suffer from mental and/or physical disabilities.

2- These children are either orphans or from needy families.

3- We are still in the process of visiting families to find out if there are any children with any kind of disabilities.

Once we identify a child who has a disability we arrange with their family to let us set up an appointment with a special doctor for an assessment and a diagnosis. Once they are diagnosed with a disability, we work with the family and with the doctor to get them registered with a learning center that can meet their specific needs or we arrange for someone to work with them in their home. So far, all of the 65 children have been diagnosed, placed in an appropriate learning environment, and are making progress. 

We have also met with government officials to increase their awareness and understanding of the need for these children to be diagnosed and placed in an optimum learning environment for them.

It is important to note that most Iraqi families have very limited knowledge of disabilities. The first boy we helped was autistic, but his family had no idea. They thought he was just misbehaving because he was a bad child, but once he was diagnosed and his family gained an understanding of his disability and his needs, he has made wonderful progress. The second young boy was deaf, but again, no one in his family realized it. He was being raised by his widowed older sister who had children of her own to care for, and she had no idea that her brother couldn't hear. After being diagnosed, we provided him with hearing aids and with remedial educational support, and his progress has been nothing short of a miracle!

We need your support to continue this project so we can reach out and provide more service to more children because our approach opens up the world of learning to them and helps their families understand their differences. This is a chance to boost the development of children with disabilities and to change their lives for the better.