Need increases as Christian families return to Nineveh Plain
Displaced Iraqi Christian women receive diapers for their infants and toddlers, supplied by the Diapers for Refugees program
At the request of the Diapers for Refugees ministry partner in Iraq, the number of diapers for infants and toddlers was increased and additional help was supplied for women’s needs and the elderly.
The number of diapers purchased increased from 160,000 to 180,000. The number of families returning to their burned-out homes in Qaraqosh and other Christian towns made the increase necessary, as some families who used to obtain diapers from other sources in the Erbil area can no longer do so. You see, not only were the homes burned and looted, but so were all the stores and businesses.
The increase to 180,000 increased our cost for the infant and toddler diapers from $18,000 to $19,800. At the beginning of 2017 the Diapers for Refugees program was also supplying the mothers of the children who received the diapers with feminine pads. For December the need was increased to 2,000 packages. Those 2,000 packages will be distributed over a period of three months as our purchases are made in bulk every three months in Dohuk, Iraq. A dedicated truck brings the supplies to the ministry warehouse in the Erbil area.
In addition, the Diapers for Refugees program during 2017 supplied adult diapers to grandparents of the children who were in need of these. The families moving back to villages also increased the need for these.
Other ministry organizations and secular groups are supplying food and other aid to displaced Iraqi Christians as they try to rebuild their lives. Food is not enough. Their homes and businesses were looted by the Islamic State (ISIS). I have been in their homes and businesses in Qaraqosh the last time in June of 2017. Everything was stolen, even the electrical outlets were taken from the walls and then most of the homes were burned.
The local ministries run by Christian aid groups operating in the Nineveh Plain keep track of what is supplied. A lot of things that have not been requested and are not needed, such as used clothing, are sent from the United States anyway.
Diapers for Refugees, along with other projects of the Religious Freedom Coalition, first find out what is needed by the refugees — and then try to fill the need. For that reason, the Diapers for Refugees program was expanded in December to increase not only the number of diapers but the number of packages of feminine pads and adult diapers as well.
As a result, our costs in December increased from $18,000 to $23,475. To help with the increased cost please donate here.