SICF Takes Children's Village Child Trauma Experts to Baghdad

August 17, 2012

What does a nation do when it has so many traumatized orphans and street children after years of terrorism and violence and not enough trained social workers to lend a helping hand? Iraq faces such an urgent crisis and SICF has resolved to invest in building the capacity — the skills and expertise — of Iraqi caregivers to deal with childhood trauma.

In June, SICF took a team of experts (above) from one of America’s leading institutions – The Children’s Village (CV) of New York — to Baghdad to lead a specially designed 5-day workshop for leaders of orphan care facilities as well as Iraqi community groups that help orphans and street children. Far too many children have not only lost a parent in bombings or other acts of violence, but have had the horrific experience of seeing a parent or relative killed in front of their eyes.

Iraq’s Deputy Minister for Labor and Social Affairs opened the workshop the first day and returned at the end to award graduation certificates to some 30 trainees.

SICF will continue to pursue capacity building opportunities to help the long suffering people of Iraq address the deep needs of their children, Iraq’s future.