Our Ramadan appeal led by Wasan Shoresh reaches more than 200 children

In the past few weeks, we’ve been raising money to buy displaced and refugee children special Eid outfits to mark the end of Ramadan.

As a result, we’ve taken several groups of children on shopping trips, where they have been free to pick out their own clothing, shoes and accessories to commemorate the end of the holy month.

And as you can see from the wonderful gallery of photos below, the shopping expeditions provided some truly joyful moments for the children, who were thrilled to receive such a rare treat.

We’re so thankful to our supporters who have donated so generously to our appeal, including Khaima and the Presbyterian Church US. We’d also like to thank the individuals who raised funds for us – including the incredible Wasan Shoresh, who put her heart and soul into raising funds for the appeal. It honestly means such a lot, and these sorts of fundraising activities from our individual supporters make a huge difference to us a such a small organisation. (If you’d like to do something similar, you can do so here!)

The donations from this appeal mean we’ve been able to escort 147 children from the three camps where we work to Duhok’s Moda Mall, as well as more than 70 youngsters from the city itself.

With few home comforts and little opportunity for displaced children to receive gifts or new clothes, our annual campaign means their families are able to recreate the special Eid experiences they once enjoyed in their own homes. Not only have families been unable to provide much in the way of celebrations in recent years, but the pandemic has badly impacted on their finances, making such luxuries unaffordable.

When Eid begins, it brings four weeks of dawn-to-dusk fasting to a close. But after years of conflict, many families find this time of year highly challenging – especially if they have lost loved ones to the war. And for all those still unable to return to their homes and communities, it’s a time of mixed emotions and retrospection.

Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who has donated to the cause…