The Diapers for Refugees program we operate in the Nineveh Plain is an essential program that no other organization offers. We are also the only organization furnishing sanitary napkins to women in that area.
The adult diapers, not only for the elderly but for younger people with special needs, can literally change lives. I have mentioned before about being in the homes of some in need of adult diapers, talking and praying with them.
Iraq has literally been in a state of war since 2003. By the official end of the war in 2011, 4,497 American service personnel had died and 26,050 were wounded. Estimates are that more than 600,000 Iraqi civilians have died — and that does not include those murdered by the Islamic State (ISIS). The Christian population of Iraq has been reduced by 83%.
The destruction of hospitals by all sides and the number of doctors who have fled, has caused a drastic rise in the number of children born with severe disabilities. I have visited with some of these children and their families, and prayed for many of them.
Now there is a new crisis on the Nineveh Plain, as Syrian families with elderly parents or special needs children cross over into this area of Iraq. As of now we are reaching only a small percentage of the Syrian Christian refugees who need help.
To expand the diaper program to the Syrian refugees in the Nineveh Plain would cost an additional $5,000 a month. We cannot make that commitment now.
For now, we must get through 2019. Please pray this month for the success of the diaper program this year.