Our Impact
Our mission is to intervene with love and hope in the lives of children who are vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and exploitation by criminal, traffickers, and extremists. ICF invests in Iraqi children by:
Being a voice for children with no voice;
Mobilizing resources for education, health, protection, and trauma care, and helping to stop child labor;
Emphasizing sustainable hand-up initiatives over hand-outs; and
Investing in training and capacity buildings of Iraqis caring for children.
Our Programs
Hope Bus 1 & 2
Our eye-catching “Hope Buses” are ordinary, used buses that are converted into colorful, child friendly classrooms, each serving approximately 50 desperately poor orphans and street kids with tutoring, nutrition, health case, social services, and childhood fun.
Baghdad Street Lawyers
The Street Lawyers provide legal protection for children who are targeted by criminals and traffickers, abused by employers, or facing other risks. Street Lawyers also help children obtain legal documents required to enroll in school and access government benefits.
Social Services
Social workers on the Street Lawyers team help work to end child labor and get children off the streets. They also work to stop domestic abuse, provide medical care, and help get access to psychosocial services for children with trauma or mental health issues.
COVID-19 Response
ICF is providing emergency support for children and families during COVID-19, through the provision of food and hygiene supplies, and a program to employ women in communities to make PPE masks for distribution.
Sinjar School Re-Opening
Together with our partner, Iraq Health Access Organization (IHAO) ICF is supporting a project to refurbish and re-open the Al Waleed primary school in Sinjar. Al-Waleed primary school was built originally in 1980, was partially renovated in 2010, and has remained abandoned and unused since the ISIS occupation. The school will serve up to 400 school children.
Trauma Care for Kids & Families
In 2020, ICF commenced a mentorship and training program to help build capacity for social workers. This program was developed in collaboration with our Iraqi partner Iraq Health Access Organization (IHAO), and is led by ICF’s Mental Health & Trauma Consultant, Farah Al Najar.
Medical Support
ICF aims to be an organization that provides holistic support for vulnerable children. We recognize the importance of medical care as part of this mission. Together with our new Board Director, Dr. Rafid Aziz, we are working towards developing a new program specifically to target the medical support needs of children in Iraq.
One-Time Interventions
ICF occasionally supports one-time projects that deliver high impact and immediate support to vulnerable children in Iraq. Examples include medical treatment and equipment support, toys, and food & hygiene supplies.
Anti-Trafficking of Children
In 2020, ICF launched a specialized team within the Street Lawyers, with a sole focus on anti-trafficking. Trafficking of children for labor, organs, and sex is a growing problem in Iraq, and evidence suggests it has been exacerbated by COVID. With additional funding, we plan to expand this team to serve more children.