Our winter clothing campaign reaches nearly 700 children

With heavy snow and freezing weather in Kurdistan right now, the Lotus Flower has been busy distributing essential winter clothing to vulnerable children.

We’ve teamed up with Zarok, Operation Hope Australia and the Presbyterian Church in the US, whose kind support means so far we have been able to provide nearly 700 children in IDP camps with warm coats, jackets and shoes for these bitter winter months. 

Children living within Essyan, Rwanga and Domiz 2 camps have received the much-needed items, as well as youngsters in Duhok city.

This is the fourth year running that we have been providing winter clothing for children, and with one of the biggest snowfalls in recent years, it is more important than ever that we do all we can to make the conditions more manageable.

As you can imagine, life in camp is even more challenging when the thermometer plummets like this, especially as most families live in basic tents or cabins – often with no heating at all.

For vulnerable communities, the hardships of winter can mean the difference between life and death – and the pandemic has made things so much worse, with critical shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies.

As you can see from these photos, it’s always such a pleasure to distribute these winter items to the children – and we’re so grateful for the support which allows us to keep doing it…