Achievements in 2010

Achievements in 2010: SICF’s “Surge of Love” focuses on trauma and humanitarian care for Iraq’s Precious Orphans

As we look back on 2010, SICF is pleased to report to our friends, supporters, and stakeholders, what was accomplished in our mission to help the extremely vulnerable orphans of Iraq with the resources entrusted to us.

As we close only our second year as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, we are so grateful for early supporters who have helped us build momentum in our “Surge of Love” for these precious children. We have big dreams for 2011 and hope that the initiatives we have taken to address trauma and basic humanitarian needs among these children will flourish!

  • 310 warm winter jackets were purchased in Iraq and distributed to orphans in January
  • 9 destitute homes with orphans got battery operated fans in July during extreme heat and electricity outages
  • $3,000 of food and supplies were provided for several months to needy orphans living in the “City Dump”
  • A widow with orphaned children, living at the City Dump, received a sewing machine from SICF which enabled her to move from dependency on SICF help to self sufficiency.
  • 3 small $700 grants were awarded to trusted Iraqi organizations to care for orphans
  • 2,600 pounds of school supplies, backpacks, toys and other items were collected to be delivered soon to Iraqi orphans
  • 2 teams from SICF and the award-winning Children’s Village (CV) of New York met with Iraqi experts in Baghdad to lay the foundation for a new “Community Care Worker” training initiative to equip Iraqi NGOs in addressing trauma and PTSD in orphans
  • 29 Iraqi NGOs – with more than 30,000 orphans registered to them – submitted profiles to SICF to help us identify community organizations that we can work with in training and humanitarian projects
  • “7 strengths” – such as belonging, hope, compassion, etc. – are the themes of a new children’s story book to build resilience in orphans.  The story, using friendly animals, has been developed under the auspices of LitWorld and written by Charles Alexander London, former director of curriculum for War Kids Relief and renown author of such books as One Day The Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War, and the Accidental Adventures series for young readers.
  • 25 framed works of art drawn by Iraqi orphans and children were featured at a benefit auction at the Iraqi Cultural Center in Washington, DC.  Iraqi Ambassador Sumaida’ie spoke and Iraqi television journalists broadcast news of the event.

For more information, contact:  Cindy Fogleman, cindy@sicfiraq.org or (703) 963-3832.

Cindy Fogleman