Your financial contribution puts tools in their hands and hope in the hearts of displaced Christians as they work to reconstruct their communities.
Your financial contribution puts tools in their hands and hope in the hearts of displaced Christians as they work to reconstruct their communities.
The Rev. Canon Faiz Basheer Jerjes, clergy for St. George’s Church in Baghdad, Iraq, and Sinan Hanna, Chief Administrator at St. George’s, came to the U.S. in May. While here, they made presentations on the current state of “Our Church in Iraq.” Learn more about St. George’s, the challenges, how we can be supportive.
Years of devastation by ISIS and militia activity, followed by the pandemic, have forced Christians to flee from their ancestral homelands. Some have returned and some want to return, but they need to know that there is a safe and economically viable future for them in Iraq.
What can you do? SWIC offers opportunities for you to volunteer, help others understand the situation in Iraq, fundraise, and be part of the conversation on Iraq’s rich Christian heritage.
This initiative helps Iraqi Christian families remain in their traditional homeland with one-time funding for small businesses with which the grant applicant has prior experience.
Our one-time grants help farm families purchase chicks or sheep which they raise to maturity and then sell for profits which are used to buy future rounds of livestock. Each farm directly supports a multi-generational family.
Long term sustainable progress is rooted in education. SWIC partners with grassroots organizations that are finding sustainable solutions to meet the fundamental education needs so schools can provide a safe, stable environment where children of all faiths can learn together.
Christians who have stayed now want to restore at least part of what they lost but lack capital. By supporting the one-time redevelopment grants for businesses and farms, as well as education, you are helping to build a healthy and sustainable foundation for the current and next generation.
Wafaa, a widow living in Ankawa, has three children and needed to make a living for her family. SWIC donors provided funding for an oven, industrial dough mixer, and other crucial supplies. Her bakery business is now thriving.
ISIS drove Basam’s family from Mosul, forcing him to leave his business behind. In Erbil he opened a small sewing shop. With the one-time Small Business Grant from SWIC, Basam purchased a washer, dryer, water heater, and more. Now his laundry and tailoring business is sustainable.