The number of needy orphans in Iraq is perhaps greater than that in any other country. Iraq has suffered under a brutal dictator for more than 25 years, and continues to suffer from insecurity and internal strife. Every day, fathers die due to avoidable causes and small children are deprived of their love and care as well as their financial support. About half of the orphans under LFT’s care in the holy city of Najaf have lost their fathers to some kind of violent incident, be it execution by Saddam’s regime, a car explosion or a terrorist attack. Those who died of disease frequently died due to lack of medical facilities or money to pay for treatment.
The number of needy orphans in Iraq is perhaps greater than that in any other country. Iraq has suffered under a brutal dictator for more than 25 years, and continues to suffer from insecurity and internal strife
The number of needy orphans in Iraq is perhaps greater than that in any other country. Iraq has suffered under a brutal dictator for more than 25 years, and continues to suffer from insecurity and internal strife. Every day, fathers die due to avoidable causes and small children are deprived of their love and care as well as their financial support.
150 Orphans from the Poorest Strata of Society Have Been Sponsored During the Second Quarter of 2009.
2009-11-01
LFT’s representative in Najaf sent the above photograph and wrote: “I herewith send you the picture of orphan Lajeen Ja’far and her brother Hussein with their mother. I took their picture when they received their sponsorship. They send their prayers for a good life and success to LFT’s donors.”
LFT receive Appeal from 60 Orphans from Basra
2009-10-31
Losing one’s father early in life is one of the most traumatizing experiences a child can face. For those of us who have grown up with both parents it is difficult to imagine the feelings of pain, loneliness and deprivation an orphan experiences. In poor and not fully developed countries, this situation is aggravated by economic problems, lack of social support systems and the male-centeredness of many developing societies that impairs the capability of women to provide for their families.
LFT received Appeal from Widows of Emara, Iraq having 650 Orphans
2009-09-25
The ancient city of Emara is the capital of the south-eastern Iraqi province of Meisan. Situated on the banks of the Tigris river about 320 kilometres south-east of Baghdad and a mere 50 kilometres from the Iraqi-Iranian border, Emara has been known for its affluence and beautiful architecture for centuries. Today, however, Meisan province and its capital Emara belong to the poorest parts of the country due to Saddam’s oppressive regime and his neglect of provinces with a Shia majority. In addition, Emara’s infrastructure has still not recovered from destruction caused by the Iraqi-Iranian war, when the frontline went straight through the city.
125 Orphans from the Poorest Strata of Society Have Been Sponsored During the First Quarter of 2009
2009-07-01
With her report detailing implementation of the LFT Orphan Sponsorship Program in the holy city of Najaf and Dhi-Qar province in Iraq, LFT’s representative wrote: “When I entered the house of Marwa Tomeh, a deaf-mute orphan living in the city of Nasseriyah in Dhi-Qar province in southern Iraq, her equally deaf-mute mother greeted me with signs of relief and joy. I found Marwa lying on a thin mattress on the ground, unable to get up. Family members explained that Marwa had been severely ill for several days, but the family did not have any money to take her to a doctor. Even before I had handed over the sponsorship money, one of Marwa’s healthy siblings had gone to find a car to take her to the hospital. The family praised Allah and prayed for the donors who donated towards Marwa’s sponsorship. Al-hamdu lillah, with appropriate medical care, Marwa is now well on the way to full recovery.
LFT receive Appeal from 100 Orphans from Basra (61 Orphans are aged between 1 to 4)
2009-06-11
Losing one’s father early in life is one of the most traumatizing experiences a child can face. For those of us who have grown up with both parents it is difficult to imagine the feelings of pain, loneliness and deprivation an orphan experiences. In poor and not fully developed countries, this situation is aggravated by economic problems, lack of social support systems and the male-centeredness of many developing societies that impairs the capability of women to provide for their families.
Appeal for Health Room for Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq School for Orphans, Kerbala
2009-06-10
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq School for Orphans was established and is run by the “Development and Relief Foundation”, a charitable organization founded by Ayatollah Qazvini that is active in Karbala, Iraq. Ayatollah Qazvini returned to Iraq after the downfall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, having lived in exile in the United States for twenty years. Upon his arrival, he found that the whole of Iraq and especially the holy city of Karbala suffered from lack of infrastructure and basic services in the health and educational sector. Due to oppression and persecution under Saddam Hussein as well as ongoing conflict and insecurity after his downfall, in Karbala alone there are more than 25,000 orphans who lost one or both parents and the number is growing daily.
Under 4th Phase LFT is supporting 300 Orphans under its Orphan Sponsorship Program of Kerbala – Iraq out of 1,291 Orphans. Widows are crying for assistance. LFT Donors please answer the call of widows and Orphans. (PART D – Names of second 75 more orphans)
2008-10-09
Iraq is becoming a country noted for the very high percentage of citizens who are widows. There are an estimated 8.5 million women in Iraq aged 15 – 80. Of these women, about 1 in 6 is a widow or a divorcee. They have no dependable source of income, to support themselves or to support their children. Widows are often also responsible for the care of elderly family members. There are many ways to become a widow in Iraq. Many of these ladies lost their husbands during the 8-year war with Iran. Other women were widowed when their husbands were executed, or ‘disappeared’, under Saddam’s long regime. Untold thousands of women have become widows during the harsh sanctions imposed on the people of Iraq or as a result of sectarian violence in Iraq over the past few years.
A Program to prevent the spread of Cholera in Iraq - Prevention is better than cure
2008-10-03
The Iraqi Aid Committee (IRAC) was established in April 2003 in the Iraqi city of Karbala as a non-governmental, non-profit humanitarian organization with the aim to serve the people of Iraq. A branch office in Basrah was established soon after. Presently, IRAC has charitable activities in Karbala, Najaf, Basrah, al-Kut and Sadr City /Baghdad.
Sponsorship of 125 Orphans in Najaf al-Ashraf and al-Nasseriyah Province, Iraq
2008-07-08
The number of widows and orphans in Iraq is huge. No detailed statistics exist, but estimates based on the reported daily number of victims of roadside bombings and terrorist attacks arrive at about one million widows and five million orphans. To this number, children orphaned because their fathers died from cancer caused by pollution of the environment with substances that cause the disease have to be added. The number of orphans and widows rises on a daily basis.
LFT receives Appeal from 86 more Orphans from Kerbala bring the total to 225 under Orphans Sponsorship Program of Kerbala – Iraq (PART B – Names of second 75 more orphans)
2008-03-30
Dear LFT donors: Your sponsorship makes it possible for these children to continue to attend school despite all hardships. Many of them show great eagerness to study and are among the top students in their forms. It does not cost much to support an orphan in Iraq. GBP 15.00 (USD 30.00) per month will provide for basic food and clothing. Your sponsorship will prevent that an orphan gives up his / her education in order to work in menial jobs. Your sponsorship will provide an orphan with the means to acquire knowledge and skills that will ensure that he / she will grow up to be an educated and useful member of society.
LFT increases from 57 to 102 Orphans Sponsorship Program in Najaf al-Ashraf and Dhi Qar Province – Iraq
2008-03-07
An estimated two million families in Iraq are headed by a widow. Women who never received an education and who do not have the skills to earn enough to feed their children suddenly find themselves responsible for two, three, four and more children, in some cases as many as eight or ten. LFT facilitates the sponsorship of 102 orphans in Najaf al-Ashraf and the southern province of Dhi Qar. Sixty orphans have been sponsored since 2005 while forty-two new orphans were added in July 2007. The table below shows the composition of this group according to gender and age:
Over 1,000 orphans in Kerbala call for your help
2008-01-18
The Trust has a request to assist over 1,000 orphaned children in Kerbala. The cost per child of providing food, shelter accommodation and clothing at a foster parent's house is GB£15 (US$30) per month. The Trust has committed to support 200 children and with your assistance many more can be assisted.
2007-12-27
182 children and youths aged between two and twenty years hope for your assistance this year. Children who suffer from malnutrition and acute lack of food, who need clothing and shoes to protect them from the cold in winter, who need schoolbags, notebooks and pencils to be able to continue their education, who need a little joy and warmth in their lives, who need the feeling that someone far away is remembering them in their misery. These children are as bright, eager and playful as any other children. They are not asking for much. All they need to give them a sound basis to build their lives and their country when they grow up is three square meals a day and the most basic educational tools.
Appeal from 69 more families from Kerbala under Orphans Sponsorship Project bring the total no of Orphans sponsored to 139 out of 756 Orphans in total. 20 families live in houses unfit for human accommodation, houses that are partly or wholly constructed from reed and palm leaves.
2007-08-21
The “Remarks” section of the table gives a vivid picture of the sufferings of these children. Of the 139 families on this list, 44 live in shelters built on government land without official authorization, 33 live with relatives and a further 30 families live in rented housing, spending almost all their permanent income on rent. 20 families live in houses unfit for human accommodation, houses that are partly or wholly constructed from reed and palm leaves. Despite these circumstances, a majority of the children who are of school age manage to continue their education. Despite the lack of furniture, air conditioning, electricity and even proper clothing and stationery, not to mention the lack of food and medical care, these children continue to study, and to hope and work for a better future. A mere 15.00 GBP per month per Orphan can help them to realize this hope.
Twenty Iraqi Orphans Apply for Your Assistance - Orphans being sponsored in Basra brings the total to 110 in 2007
2007-06-28
Iraq is the country of orphans. There are no statistics even estimating how many children lost their fathers to the brutal oppression of Saddam’s dictatorship. Neither is there any information on the number of children who lost their fathers due to the sectarian and criminal violence engulfing the country since Saddam’s downfall. Iraqi society is also an extremely family-centred society, and especially in its more conservative strata traditional gender roles are still firmly in place. Even grown-up unmarried women look to male family members, especially their fathers, for support. It remains difficult for most Iraqi women to support themselves and their families on their own.
It only costs 50 pence per day, ladies and gentlemen, to sponsor an orphan
2007-05-30
No amount of financial assistance will ever be able to replace any father’s loving care and eradicate from the minds of these children those dreadful minutes when their fathers lost their lives, in some cases in front of their own eyes. However, with a mere GBP 15 (USD 30.00) per month, you can at least ease their poverty and enable them to rebuild their lives and make a fresh beginning, as well as gain blessings for yourself.
64 increased to 70 Iraqi (Kerbala) Orphans Sponsorship from May 2007
2007-05-03
The number of needy orphans in Iraq is perhaps greater than that in any other country. Iraq has suffered under a brutal dictator for more than 25 years, and continues to suffer from insecurity and internal strife. Every day, fathers die due to avoidable causes and small children are deprived of their love and care as well as their financial support. More than half of the orphans under LFT’s care in the holy city of Karbala have lost their fathers to some kind of violent incident, be it execution by Saddam’s regime, a car explosion or a terrorist attack. Those who died of disease frequently died due to lack of medical facilities or money to pay for treatment.
Emergency Appeal - Assistance to Internally Displaced Families in and around Basra – Iraq
2007-02-13
Sectarian strife and terrorism has led to human displacements on an unprecedented scale in Iraq. According to the website ReliefWeb (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm), about 200,000 persons had to leave their homes after they were threatened or attacked for belonging to the Shia faith. Numbers are rising. The number of internally displaced families in and around the southern city of Basra was 3,325 families (about 20,000 persons) as of 31 January 2007 according to the Iraqi authorities and is rising steadily.
64 Iraqi (Kerbala) Orphans Sponsorship from January 2007
2007-01-30
No amount of financial assistance will ever be able to replace any father’s loving care and eradicate from the minds of these children those dreadful minutes when their fathers lost their lives, in some cases in front of their own eyes. However, with a mere GBP 10 (USD 20.00) per month, you can at least ease their poverty and enable them to rebuild their lives and make a fresh beginning, as well as gain blessings for yourself.
Orphan Sponsorship Program Najaf al-Ashraf
2007-01-06
One of the most traumatizing events in the life of a child is the death of a parent. When an Iraqi child loses his/her father, in most cases the psychological trauma is compounded by serious and debilitating financial problems. Since 2005, LFT’s donors are sponsoring a number of orphans in the holy city of Najaf al-Ashraf. In 2006, sixty orphaned families received monthly sponsorships amounting to 25,000 Dinar per orphan. A short glance at the database reveals that no less than forty percent of the children were orphaned due to violence. Fathers were executed by Saddam’s regime, shot by terrorists or robbers, killed by American bombing or died in car explosions. How painful to think that these fathers would still be with their children, were it not for dictatorship and war.
Medical Appeal for Hussein Adel Mehdi and Montadhar Adel Mehdi
2006-12-10
Hussein and Montadhar are brothers aged nine and three who live in the Iraqi town of Karbala. Both suffered from congenital heart disease. Hussein had Fallot’s Tetralogy and little Montadhar had a large VSD (“hole in the heart”). For both conditions, corrective surgery is routinely performed in developed and even many developing countries. However, due to lack of security and outdated medical equipment, at present, most patients do not have access to such surgery in Iraq.
Appeal to Provide Wheelchairs to Fifty Disabled Iraqi Men and Women
2006-12-05
The Iraqi city of Karbala has a long history of suffering. As a center of Islamic religious learning, it was known for its opposition to Saddam’s rule. Consequently, it suffered from complete neglect of all its facilities during his era. Especially in the health sector the lack of facilities, medicines and public health programmes meant that many people suffered permanent damage to their health and became disabled.
Appeal for Funding for Distribution of 3500 Blankets to 500 Internally Displaced Families in Karbala – Iraq
2006-12-01
Today, many Iraqis are threatened at their places of residence because they belong to a certain religious or ethnic group. Conservative estimates talk of 2,000 thus persecuted families taking refuge in the city of Karbala. In order not to attract attention when fleeing, they were forced to escape with nothing but the clothes they wore. With the little funds they were able to bring with them, they rented the cheapest accommodation available. Many houses do not have proper doors and lack windowpanes. Most families had no funds left to buy even the most basic household equipment. All of them hoped that they would be able to return to their homes before the onset of winter, but the security situation deteriorated even further and they are forced to stay where they are.
Sponsoring 50 orphans in Basra, South Iraq from December 2006 to June 2007
2006-11-22
The southern Iraqi city of Basrah was regarded as a stronghold of opposition to Saddam’s brutal reign and bore a lot of persecution of its inhabitants and neglect of basic facilities. During the American intervention of Iraq, Basrah was one of the main scenes of fighting. As it is close to the Kuwaiti border, over which coalition forces entered the country, Saddam concentrated his army there and a lot of fighting took place in and around Basrah.
20 Iraqi Orphans Continued Sponsorship from October 2006
2006-11-07
The number of needy orphans in Iraq is perhaps greater than that in any other country. Iraq has suffered under a brutal dictator for more than 25 years, and continues to suffer from insecurity and internal strife. Every day, fathers die due to avoidable causes and small children are deprived of their love and care as well as their financial support. About half of the orphans under LFT’s care in the holy city of Najaf have lost their fathers to some kind of violent incident, be it execution by Saddam’s regime, a car explosion or a terrorist attack. Those who died of disease frequently died due to lack of medical facilities or money to pay for treatment.
35 Iraqi Orphans Sponsorship from 2006
2006-06-13
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “ …. Blessed is the wealth of a Muslim from which he gives to the poor, the orphans and to needy travellers. ….” The number of needy orphans in Iraq is perhaps greater than that in any other country. Iraq has suffered under a brutal dictator for more than 25 years, and continues to suffer from insecurity and internal strife. Every day, fathers die due to avoidable causes and small children are deprived of their love and care as well as their financial support. About half of the orphans under LFT’s care in the holy city of Najaf have lost their fathers to some kind of violent incident, be it execution by Saddam’s regime, a car explosion or a terrorist attack. Those who died of disease frequently died due to lack of medical facilities or money to pay for treatment.
25 Iraqi Orphans Continued Sponsorship from 2005
2006-06-13
The number of needy orphans in Iraq is perhaps greater than that in any other country. Iraq has suffered under a brutal dictator for more than 25 years, and continues to suffer from insecurity and internal strife. Every day, fathers die due to avoidable causes and small children are deprived of their love and care as well as their financial support. About half of the orphans under LFT’s care in the holy city of Najaf have lost their fathers to some kind of violent incident, be it execution by Saddam’s regime, a car explosion or a terrorist attack. Those who died of disease frequently died due to lack of medical facilities or money to pay for treatment.
Background information about some of the neighbourhoods
2006-06-08
The main problem in Karbala is sanitation. Proper sanitation is only available in a small region around the Shrines in the old city of Karbala, and the sanitation problems are thus shared by most neighbourhoods. Except in the region around the Shrines, there are no sewage pipes. Those who have the means buy a sanitation tank, which has to be emptied out when it fills up. Many families do not have the means, and sewage is simply released into the street.
Final Report: Purchase and Distribution of Two Milk cows for Two Saddat Families Project
2006-05-25
Summary This project was funded by The Lady Fatemah (a.s.) Charitable Trust who raised £1,000 (US$ 1,750) for the purchase of two milking cows. The aim of the project is to improve the living conditions of two marsh lane Saddat families (22 people in total) by giving each family a cow. The families can then sell the milk produced by the cow and generate enough income to meet their daily needs. The marsh lane families much appreciated the project and wish to convey their thanks to both The Lady Fatemah (a.s.) Charitable Trust and the IRAC for their fruitful work. They also expressed a desire for more cows to be purchased in order to improve the living condition of more marsh lane families.
Medical Referral Program
2005-09-12
IRAC’s Medical Referral Program There are a number of Afghani and Iraqi refugees in Iran who require routine medical care, outpatient treatments etc, amounting to on average, £50 per patient. Their reason for not repatriating is lack of medical facilities in their respective countries, and so they remain in Iran hoping somehow to raise the money for treatment. In addition, a growing number of Iraqi and Afghani nationals are coming to Iran, seeking more complicated treatments including open heart surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and eye surgery. The IRAC office in Tehran is co-coordinating this work.
Mobile EYE Clinic Medical Services
2005-06-29
Location of Project: IRAC / Karbala Office Duration of Project: Self Generating Income Project Cost: $ 25,175.00 Problem Addressed: Karbala is holy city, which is visited by millions of people every year. The city inhabitants were persecuted by the previous regime and suffered from complete neglect during the past 35 years, especially after 1991 uprising after it was attacked and partially destroyed. All basic services in the city were neglected, but the health sector suffered most and the medical institutions lacked important medicines needed even for easily treated and common diseases. This deterioration in general health of the community in addition to the absence of community health programmes caused the appearance of many chronic and other common diseases that were controlled or eradicated and the most affected group are children, women and the elderly.
Al - Saadah Orphan Project
2005-05-11
Al - Saadah Orphan Project Funded by The Lady Fâtemah (a.s.) Charitable Trust
Assistance to Poor and Needy Families
2004-09-08
Sum of £ 2,500.00 was transfered to Iraq. From this amount 73 families benefited towards improving their lives
