Iraq Crisis: World Vision Supports Aid Delivery to Displaced Individuals

World Vision has begun distribution of aid supplies to hundreds of families, facilitated by Iraqi organisation, the Women’s Empowerment Organisation. 

Since January 2014, up to 1.8 million people, nearly half of whom are children, have been displaced in Iraq. Last month, around 80,000 people from the minority Yazidi sect fled the escalating violence in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar to Dohuk, a city north of Baghdad.  Dohuk is now hosting more than 450,000 people, a quarter of total internally displaced people in the country.

Majority of these people fled their homes in temperatures regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius. Wearing the same set of clothing they had the day they left, they are seeking for shelters anywhere they can – from tents, businesses, lawns, and churches. While some have reached relative safety from these places, their living and hygiene conditions are dismal. Most do not have adequate food, water and shelter and many are still in a state of shock, uncertain about the future.

Majida, a 45-year-old mum said to World Vision at our distribution centre facilitated by the Women’s Empowerment Organisation: “When you have to run, you just run. You don’t take anything. We stayed on the mountain [Sinjar] for seven days before leaving. We had to keep moving. My children and I walked for 20 hours where we went through Syria to return to Iraq in a different route. While many were running away from Syria, my children and I were forced to head to that direction as we knew it was the only way to go back to Iraq.”

World Vision has partnered with the Women’s Empowerment Organisation to provide aid relief. Initial distributions of clothing, hygiene kits, children’s toys and diapers have started and more than 350 families (more than 2,000 people) have benefitted from the Dohuk region of Iraq. 

“We just really needed clothing as we have been wearing the same thing since we left without any clean water to wash,” said Majida. “But we feel safe now, thank god.”

World Vision is seeking to scale up operations in Iraq to meet the needs of thousands of displaced children and families. We are also responding to the conflict in Syria and assisting refugee families in neighbouring countries in Lebanon and Jordan. 

For media inquiries, please contact the media team at World Vision +44 (0)7889 631 613